We are looking for an AI Programmer to join the team, working on our exciting and recently announced publisher-backed Unreal Engine 4 project. You'll ideally relish the challenge of crafting believable NPC animals and creatures that are realistic, dynamic and compelling in their behaviour, and feel right at home in our rich and expansive game world. This is an important role central to the game's identity, so your work will be prominent and rewarding and directly influence the end product.
Location: The role is fully remote. Relocation packages are available for the right candidate if working locally is desirable.
Level/Experience: Mid to senior role with direct or similar experiences in crafting believable creatures/animals in games.
The Role: You will be working alongside designers and programmers to build and maintain the believability of our animals and their behaviour sets. You will be working with behaviour trees and pathfinding, and making use of solid C++ development skills. You'll be surrounded by a friendly, supportive and passionate team and be a key stakeholder in forming the player experience.
What the Job Entails
Distilling the vision statement of what our animals mean in our game into functional AI actors which exhibit interesting and dynamic interactive behaviour
Work alongside game designers and animators to craft the player experience as far as interaction with AI agents is concerned, which may include combat interactions
Responsible for the look and feel of our animal behaviours, removing bugs, jank and immersion-breaking situations in general
Creating prototypes to help build suitable frameworks that can support and inform the design team
Suggest improvements if necessary by designing and implementing new systems
Collaborate with designers and animators in discussing constraints and establish the technical possibilities of AI behaviours
Suggest innovations based on other industry-leading games and techniques
Program in C++ in a clear and structured way, taking into account simplicity, readability, maintainability, and performance
Validate and verify that the newly developed systems meet project AI requirements
Document the work so as to transfer knowledge and enable team members of other disciplines to understand how to use the new AI systems and functionality
Requirements
Solid C++ programming and Blueprint skills
Strong understanding of AI principles; knowledge of behaviour trees, blackboards, tasks, etc.
Excellent problem-solving ability
Great team communication skills, especially in remote contexts
Passion for playing and creating cutting-edge, single-player video game experiences
Desirable
Involvement in a shipped game using Unreal Engine 4
Worked at a AAA or AA studio
Experience working on pathfinding or AI movement/behaviours for characters, preferably bipedal and quadrupedal animals and/or creatures
Experience solving complex AI problems (navigation, turning, route planning, multiple agent interaction, etc)
Strong mathematical ability; knowledge of vectors, matrices, and linear algebra
Experience working with complex animation graphs, procedural animation, and/or foot and spine IK
Knowledge and interest in mentoring and coaching junior roles
Excited to be a part of an indie studio with big ambitions!
Benefits & Perks
A four-day (32h) workweek as standard.
Work from home or the office – it's up to you.
A genuine, company-wide aversion to crunch.
Private health, dental and life insurance via Vitality.
Predefined annual salary reviews.
31 days paid holiday each year (including bank holiday entitlements plus your birthday).
Extra time off for special events and emergencies – no questions asked.
Fast-growing studio with good potential for career advancement.
Quarterly team meetups (hosted by the company).
One hour a week paid exercise and wellness time.
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Allowance for personal and career development courses.
If you feel you have something to offer this role, even if you don’t think you qualify for all the above, please still apply. We are an inclusive employer and if you have potential, talent and a great work ethic, we want to hear from you. 🙏