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Serious Game Developer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

At Ketch, we're serious about our values of passion, growth, grit, collaboration, and integrity. We ... their game. Benefits and Perks * Competitive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with 100% of ...

Quality Assurance Tester

Irvine, CA · On-site

$67K - $85K/yr

... developers with Lineage 2M occupying the #1 grossing revenue slot on Google Play ... Our core goal is making people in this world happier by delivering games that entertain a globally ...

New

Legal deadlines, serious incidents, and regulator attention come with this job, and you can hold a ... A strong passion for Discord and/or gaming, and an appreciation for the communities we serve

Showing results 41-60

Serious Game Developer information

See California salary details

$32.1K

$107K

$177.6K

How much do serious game developer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for serious 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 a serious game developer?

A Serious Game Developer designs and develops games with educational, training, or behavioral change purposes rather than pure entertainment. They integrate game mechanics, interactive storytelling, and simulations to engage users in learning experiences. These games are often used in fields like healthcare, corporate training, military, and education. Developers collaborate with subject matter experts, instructional designers, and psychologists to ensure the content is both effective and engaging. Their responsibilities include game design, coding, testing, and optimizing experiences for different platforms.

What are the typical day-to-day responsibilities of a serious game developer?

On a daily basis, a Serious Game Developer collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to design, prototype, and implement interactive experiences that achieve specific learning or training goals. Responsibilities include coding game mechanics, integrating multimedia assets, conducting playtesting sessions, and gathering feedback from subject matter experts and end users. Developers also refine gameplay based on user data and assessment outcomes, ensuring both educational effectiveness and user engagement. The role often involves balancing creativity with technical precision while adapting to evolving client needs and project requirements.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the serious game developer position, and why are they important?

A Serious Game Developer needs expertise in game design, programming, and a solid understanding of instructional design or behavioral science, often supported by a degree in computer science, game development, or a related field. Familiarity with game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, proficiency in scripting languages (such as C# or Python), and experience with learning management systems or assessment tools are typically required. Strong communication, creativity, and project management skills allow developers to collaborate effectively with subject matter experts and stakeholders. These competencies are essential because serious games must not only be engaging but also achieve specific educational or training outcomes for diverse audiences.

What are the most commonly searched types of Serious Game Developer jobs in California?

The most popular types of Serious Game Developer jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Serious Game Developer jobs in California?

For Serious Game Developer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Serious Game Developer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Serious Game Developer jobs in California are:

Infographic showing various Serious Game Developer job openings in California as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 77% Full Time, 15% Part Time, and 7% Contract. Highlights an 70% In-person, 4% Hybrid, and 26% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $107,050 per year, or $51.5 per hour.

Research Engineer (L5) - Growth and Commerce

Los Gatos, CA • On-site

Netflix
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation • 5 - 10K employees

$238K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 3 days ago


Netflix rating

5.8

Company rating: 5.8 out of 10

Based on 15 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services with 278 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.
The Role
Role location: Los Gatos, CA or Remote.
Netflix is one of the world's leading streaming entertainment services, with over 270 million members in 190 countries enjoying 1000s of TV Shows, Movies and Games every month via a variety of subscription plans - from Ad supported entry level plans to Premium plans that provide best-in-class streaming experience.
The Growth & Commerce Data Science & Engineering team plays a critical role in driving and accelerating sustainable growth of Netflix members and revenue globally, by leveraging data, experimentation & machine learning to develop compelling and persuasive conversion and monetization experiences across the membership lifecycle - starting from the signup flow which is visited daily by millions of prospective members looking to find persuasive information about our service, to timely & relevant commerce experiences post-signup to optimize revenue per member.
As a Senior Research Engineer, you will join this team of stunning Data Scientists, Analytics Engineers and ML Scientists to lead the development of algorithmic & ML driven experience optimization systems
ML for Growth & Commerce experiences is a relatively greenfield area, with potential for several 0-1 applications that can drive millions of dollars of impact at Netflix's scale. You will be responsible for operating, as well as innovating on, these algorithms in production, and validating through running offline experiments, and building online A/B tests to run in production systems. You'll partner with other ML engineers, scientists and product managers on cross-functional ML initiatives. You'll spot gaps in how we've done things before, and you'll find a better way to do them.
To be successful in this role, you'll bring a solid machine learning background, strong software development skills, rapid learning velocity, a burning desire for impact and a passion for solving problems end-to-end. You will need to demonstrate strong communication and leadership skills, an ability to set priorities, and a strong bias to action in a dynamic environment.
In this role, you will:
  • Design, implement and operate high impact machine learning models in Growth & Commerce
  • Partner closely with cross-functional Growth leads and business analysts to identify high value applications of machine learning, translating business intuition into data-driven solutions
  • Work closely with scientists and engineers on detailed requirements and implementation of end-to-end solutions at scale
  • Inform and influence the development of better infrastructure for developing and deploying ML models
  • Advocate for and apply best practices when it comes to availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management

What you'll bring:
  • Deep end-to-end ML experience with a strong track record of deploying successful ML solutions
  • Exceptional communication skills, able to explain complex technical concepts clearly to cross-functional partners
  • Ability to deal with ambiguity; a strong ownership mindset, and a desire to thrive on minimal oversight and process
  • Willingness to learn and rapidly absorb business context in the complex payments ecosystem
  • Strong experience in a ML/DL framework (e.g., scikit-learn, Keras, PyTorch, TensorFlow)
  • Excellent software engineering skills in multi-language settings with Scala, Java, and Python
  • PhD or Masters in Computer Science or related field preferred
  • Experience with causal ML or reinforcement learning is a plus
  • Experience with Growth, Notifications or other Targeting systems is a plus

What you'll learn:
  • Innovation and partnership on a global scale, navigating the balance of technical rigor with business requirements
  • Incubating and scaling new areas of ML within a highly successful product

Our compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; we do not have bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. To determine your personal top of market compensation, we rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. The range for this role is $170,000 - $720,000.
Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including Health Plans, Mental Health support, a 401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match, Stock Option Program, Disability Programs, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts, Family-forming benefits, and Life and Serious Injury Benefits. We also offer paid leave of absence programs. Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. Full-time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off. See more detail about our Benefits here.
Netflix is a unique culture and environment. Learn more here.
Tags: ResearchSite
We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity of thought and background builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

What Netflix employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

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About Netflix

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 222 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Industry

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Company size

5,001 - 10,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Los Gatos, CA, US

Year founded

1997