Contractual Rendering Programmer Jobs in Chicago, IL

Gaming:
Welcome to the world of land-based gaming. At Light & Wonder, it's all about the games, and our Gaming team builds cutting-edge technology, products, and content for the most iconic casinos and operators across the globe.
Position Summary
At Light & Wonder, it's all about the games, and our Gaming team builds cutting-edge technology, products, and content for the most iconic casinos and operators across the globe.
The Mission
Build and evolve the shared technology platform that powers Light & Wonder's next generation gaming experiences across multiple platforms and hardware requirements.
Job Summary
As a Senior Advanced Software Engineer at Light & Wonder, you will be a key contributor within a collaborative, global engineering team focused on delivering robust, innovative technology solutions.
Outcomes

• Deliver core engine systems that are stable, performant, and portable across platforms.
• Lead technical initiatives and actively mentor junior engineers.
• Ensure compliance with platform standards.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of development processes.

Essential Job Functions

• Design, build, test and maintain core engine systems including rendering pipelines, cross-platform runtime abstraction, and memory/performance systems.
• Build the engine-level abstractions and tooling that serve as the foundation for product development.
• Diagnose and resolve complex low-level performance and stability issues.
• Contribute to core engine architecture decisions and long-term technical roadmap.
• Partner cross-functionally with platform, tools, and product teams;
• Leverage AI-assisted tools to improve development efficiency, code quality, testing effectiveness, and team productivity.
• Stay current with industry trends and technologies.

Qualifications
Training and/or Experience

• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field.
• Direct experience working on Unity, Unreal or a comparable commercial game engine.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Expert in C++ and/or C#.
• Deep understanding of rendering pipelines, graphics APIs and GPU architecture.
• Strong grasp of low-level performance optimization and memory management.
• Comfortable using AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, Copilot) as part of the daily development workflow.
• Experience building cross-platform solutions is highly preferred.
• Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
• Ability to lead and mentor team members.

Additional Information
This is a hybrid role based eligible to work in our Chicago or Las Vegas studio. Team members are expected to be in the office 4 days a week to support collaboration and studio culture.
Physical Requirement
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, bend, use hands, operate a computer, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer and business equipment.
Work Conditions
The work conditions are representative and typical of similar jobs in comparable organizations.
Light & Wonder and its affiliates (collectively, L&W) are engaged in highly regulated gaming businesses. As a result, certain L&W employees may, among other things, be required to obtain a gaming or other license(s), undergo background investigations or security checks, or meet certain standards dictated by law, regulation or contracts.
In order to ensure L&W complies with its regulatory and contractual commitments, as a condition to hiring and continuing to employ its employees, L&W requires all of its employees to meet those requirements that are necessary to fulfill their individual roles. As a prerequisite to employment with L&W (to the extent permitted by law), you shall be asked to consent to L&W conducting a due diligence/background investigation on you.
This job description should not be interpreted as all-inclusive; it is intended to identify major responsibilities and requirements of the job. The employee in this position may be requested to perform other job-related tasks and responsibilities than those stated above.
The targeted pay range for this role is $150,000- $172,000. The total compensation package for this position may also include applicable incentive compensation, such as an annual performance bonus. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, specific work geography, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
As a member of the L&W team, you will be eligible for company sponsored benefits that include healthcare, dental, vision, paid time off, a generous 401(k) plan, tuition assistance, and much more.
Light & Wonder is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants due to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. If you'd like more information about your equal employment opportunity rights as an applicant under the law, please click here for EEOC Poster.