Second Unit Games

Senior Game Engineer - PC&Console
Second Unit Games | Remote - U.S.
Second Unit is looking for an experienced, hands-on game engineer to work on client PC and console projects.
We're specifically looking for engineers who have shipped games and then kept working on them after they launch. You'll have experience building DLC, expansions, live events, new features, content updates, or other post-launch releases.
We're looking for someone who is comfortable making technical decisions, mentoring engineers, reviewing code, troubleshooting builds or Perforce problems. and jumping in to implement a feature when that's what the project needs.
What You'll Do
Our project teams will typically be small, cross-discipline groups of approximately 6-20 developers, depending on the scope of the engagement.
You'll work directly on our client's existing codebases, tools, development pipelines, and possibly their proprietary engines. You're joining a game that has already shipped and helping build what comes next.
You'll be making day-to-day technical decisions, reviewing code, helping estimate and plan work, identifying risks early, and solving technical problems for both the project and team's development environment.
The actual work will vary by project. You might be:

• Implementing gameplay features
• Building DLC, expansions, missions, or other new content
• Supporting live events and ongoing game updates
• Fixing bugs and addressing issues in a mature codebase
• Prioritizing a backlog of work for the next release
• Working in Unreal, Unity, or a proprietary engine
• Improving tools and quality of life for the content team
• Helping solve technical problems with the Second Unit staff
• Working with the client QA and release teams

We need engineers who are comfortable getting into an existing project, understanding how it works, and becoming productive without needing to redesign everything first.
What We're Looking For
There are two experience requirements for this position that are important to us: you've shipped a major PC or console game, and you've worked on a game after it shipped.
You must have:

• Personally contributed to the development and launch of at least one AA or AAA game
• Have experience supporting a released game and delivering live or post-launch content
• Strong hands-on game engineering experience and the ability to write production-quality code
• Experience working in a large, established game codebase
• Experience diagnosing difficult technical and production problems
• A solid understanding of game-development pipelines, source control, build systems, and development workflows
• The ability to estimate engineering work, identify risks, and communicate technical issues clearly
• The judgment and communication skills to work directly with client engineers, discipline leads, and studio leadership

Professional experience with Unreal Engine, Unity, Perforce, Git, PC/console development, proprietary engines, or cross-platform development is useful. We're less concerned with checking every technology box than we are with finding someone who understands how games actually get built, shipped, updated, and maintained.
What We Want to See From You
When you apply, we'd like to see more than a list of studios and job titles. Help us understand what you actually did.
In the application process we'll include a place for you to tell us which PC or console games you've shipped, what you personally worked on, and which DLC or other post-release work you've done.
We care much more about what you actually did than what your title was.
About Second Unit
Keep your next game moving. Keep your current game thriving.
Second Unit works with established game studios that need to keep supporting successful games while their internal teams move on to what's next.
Our U.S.-based teams work directly inside our clients' development pipelines and take responsibility for defined pieces of their roadmap, including DLC, live content, gameplay features, systems, and other player-facing work.
Our teams are led by experienced developers who are still actively involved in making the game.
How We Work
Second Unit is a remote-first U.S. studio.
Our primary employment model is W-2 hourly.
You'll be paid for every hour you work, including approved overtime when applicable. Because our work depends on client projects, there may be periods between assignments when hours are not available. We want to be clear about that from the beginning.
While assigned to client work, eligible employees receive monthly healthcare and hardware stipends.
You'll use your own development workstation, provided it meets Second Unit's hardware and security requirements. We provide the dedicated project environment and security configuration used for company work. Individual clients may require additional security measures or virtual development environments.
The Person We're Looking For
You still like solving technical problems. You love supporting an existing game, with a passionate fan base, by making the game better. You raise problems early. If you don't know the answer, you're comfortable saying so and then figuring it out. When the team hits a difficult problem, you're more likely to get involved than stand back and manage it from a distance. And after years in game development, you still like shipping games.
If that sounds familiar, we'd like to hear what you've built, what you've shipped, and what you worked on after launch.