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Graduate Game Developer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

This is an ideal role for a recent university graduate who is excited to work on large-scale ... The top mobile games in the world, the most played PC indie titles, the most innovative console ...

About Us: We're an innovative tech startup on a mission to change the game in professional services ... This is an amazing opportunity for a recent graduate with a passion for Python and a strong ...

About Us: We're an innovative tech startup on a mission to change the game in professional services ... This is an amazing opportunity for a recent graduate with a passion for Python and a strong ...

... Games and operates under the brands Atos, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos offers a broad ... graduate opportunities. For more information, please see the Atos corporate web site: www.atos.net.

Senior Software Engineer - Storage

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

$143K - $189K/yr

NVIDIA AI is a pioneer in accelerated computing, known for driving breakthroughs in gaming ... Preferred : • Graduate degree (MS/PhD or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Distributed ...

Do you like changing the game? Envision what you could do here! At Apple, we believe new ideas have ... Excellent academic background with industry related work experience beyond graduate school studies.

Senior Software Engineer, Co-Experience

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$139K - $183K/yr

While we have a strong foundation of chat, voice, gameplay mechanics, and creator APIs, we need ... An undergraduate/graduate degree in computer science, engineering or a related field - or ...

Recent graduate or currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field ... TVs, game tables, fun company sponsored events, a diverse work environment with over forty ...

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Graduate Game Developer information

See California salary details

$32.1K

$107K

$177.6K

How much do graduate game developer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 13, 2026, the average yearly pay for graduate game developer in California is $107,050.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $80,400.00 and $122,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the 80 20 rule in game development?

The 80/20 rule in game development suggests that approximately 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, meaning a small portion of features or tasks often deliver the majority of value. For graduate game developers, focusing on core gameplay mechanics and essential features can maximize productivity and project impact while minimizing unnecessary work.

Is 30 too late to get into game development?

Graduate game developers can enter the industry at any age, as many employers value skills, portfolio work, and relevant experience over age. Learning programming languages like C++ or C# and gaining experience through personal projects or internships can help regardless of age, making 30 not too late to start a career in game development.

What is a Graduate Game Developer job?

A Graduate Game Developer is an entry-level role for recent graduates looking to start a career in game development. They typically work as part of a team, assisting in coding, designing, and testing video games. Responsibilities may include developing game mechanics, troubleshooting bugs, and collaborating with artists and designers. This role provides an opportunity to gain hands-on experience using industry-standard tools and technologies. Employers usually seek candidates with a relevant degree and a strong portfolio showcasing their work.

What types of projects and responsibilities can a Graduate Game Developer expect in their first role?

As a Graduate Game Developer, you can expect to work on a variety of tasks, such as writing code for gameplay features, fixing bugs, assisting with prototyping, and collaborating with artists and designers to bring game concepts to life. You may also be involved in playtesting, optimizing performance, and learning about the full game development lifecycle. Entry-level developers typically work under the guidance of senior engineers and are encouraged to contribute fresh ideas while developing their technical and teamwork skills. This supportive structure helps new graduates quickly build experience in both technical and creative aspects of game production.

Will AI replace game devs?

As a graduate game developer, AI is a tool that can automate certain tasks like asset generation or testing, but it is unlikely to fully replace human developers. Creativity, problem-solving, and understanding player experience remain essential skills that AI cannot replicate entirely. Developers will continue to adapt by integrating AI tools into their workflows to enhance productivity and innovation.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Graduate Game Developer position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Graduate Game Developer, you need a degree in computer science or a related field, solid programming skills (often in C++, C#, or Unity), and a foundational understanding of game design principles. Familiarity with popular game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, version control systems such as Git, and relevant portfolio projects are highly valued by employers. Strong teamwork, effective communication, creativity, and a willingness to learn help new graduates stand out in collaborative development environments. These skills enable you to contribute effectively to project goals, adapt to evolving technologies, and work well within a dynamic and creative team.

What can I do with a game dev degree?

A game developer with a degree can work in roles such as game programmer, designer, or artist, contributing to the creation of video games across various platforms. They often use programming languages like C++ or C# and tools such as Unity or Unreal Engine. Graduates can also pursue careers in related fields like interactive media, simulation development, or virtual reality design.
What job categories do people searching Graduate Game Developer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Graduate Game Developer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Graduate Game Developer jobs? Cities in California with the most Graduate Game Developer job openings:
Infographic showing various Graduate Game Developer job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 20% Internship, 60% Full Time, and 20% Part Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $107,050 per year, or $51.5 per hour.

Machine Learning Engineer

Unitytech

Mountain View, CA • On-site

$143K - $214K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 14 days ago


Job description

The opportunity
Unity Vector builds an offline ML platform that powers insight, experimentation, attribution, and AI-driven decision-making across the company.

Our systems operate at scale across batch and streaming data, supporting analytics, product intelligence, machine learning pipelines, and business operations. As data volume and complexity grow, our platform enables large-scale model training, feature generation, and experimentation workflows that power production ML systems.

We're looking for a Machine Learning Engineer to join our Offline Infrastructure team. This is an ideal role for a recent university graduate who is excited to work on large-scale systems and apply research-driven thinking to real-world machine learning problems.

You'll help build and evolve the infrastructure that powers training data generation, ML workflows, and distributed model training. Working closely with experienced engineers and researchers, you'll contribute to systems that ensure our ML pipelines are reliable, scalable, and efficient.

This role offers the opportunity to bridge research and production-translating advanced ideas into systems that operate at scale.

What you'll be doing

  • Build and maintain data pipelines that generate training datasets for machine learning models and experimentation
  • Contribute to infrastructure that supports distributed training workflows (e.g., PyTorch, Ray)
  • Work with workflow orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Flyte, or similar) to support multi-stage ML pipelines
  • Improve reproducibility and reliability through dataset validation, monitoring, and testing
  • Partner with ML engineers to support experimentation and model iteration
  • Help optimize performance and efficiency across data processing and training systems
  • Contribute to the evolution of our offline ML platform architecture as it scales

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Systems, or a related field
  • Strong foundation in machine learning systems, distributed systems, or large-scale data processing (through research or projects)
  • Experience with Python and working with data-intensive workloads
  • Familiarity with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and/or distributed systems (e.g., Ray, Spark)
  • Experience (academic or applied) with data pipelines, model training workflows, or large datasets
  • Strong problem-solving skills and ability to translate research ideas into practical systems
  • Interest in building scalable, reliable infrastructure for machine learning
  • Nice to Have
  • Experience with workflow orchestration systems (Airflow, Flyte, etc.)
  • Exposure to large-scale data platforms (data lakes, warehouses, streaming systems)
  • Publications or research in ML systems, distributed systems, or related areas

Additional information

  • Relocation support is not available for this position
  • Work visa/immigration sponsorship is not available for this position
$143,200.00 - $214,800.00

This range reflects the anticipated base salary for this position. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for equity awards and participation in our company incentive plans (such as annual discretionary bonuses or sales commissions). The final offer amount will depend on several factors, including geographic location and the candidate's relevant experience, professional background, and skill set.

Benefits


At Unity, we want our team members to thrive. We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support well-being and work-life balance.


Please note: Benefits eligibility, specific offerings, and coverage vary based on the country and employment status.


While specific benefits vary, here are some of the ways we strive to take care of our eligible team members globally: Comprehensive health, life, and disability insurance | Commute subsidy | Employee stock ownership | Competitive retirement/pension plans | Generous vacation and personal days | Support for new parents through leave and family-care programs | Office food snacks | Mental Health and Wellbeing programs and support | Employee Resource Groups | Global Employee Assistance Program | Training and development programs | Volunteering and donation matching program

Life at Unity


Unity [NYSE: U] is the world's leading game engine, powering play for more than 3 billion consumers each month. The top mobile games in the world, the most played PC indie titles, the most innovative console games, and virtually all of the top XR and Web Games are developed, deployed, and grown in Unity. Unity also enables teams across industries like automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare to design, simulate, and collaborate in 3D - closing the gap between ideas and reality. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.


Unity is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment and celebrate our employees across age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. Our differences are strengths that enable us to support the growing and evolving needs of our customers, partners, and collaborators. If you have a disability that means there are preparations or accommodations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please fill out this form to let us know.


Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.


This position requires the incumbent to have a sufficient knowledge of English to have professional verbal and written exchanges in this language since the performance of the duties related to this position requires frequent and regular communication with colleagues and partners located worldwide and whose common language is English.


Headhunters and recruitment agencies may not submit resumes/CVs through this Web site or directly to managers. Unity does not accept unsolicited headhunter and agency resumes. Unity will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement with Unity.


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