Technical Director, Unreal

About the Studio

Founded by games industry veterans, Rushdown was created with a simple philosophy in mind: We believe that when talented developers are consistently challenged and given clear ownership of their work, extraordinary things will happen. As a co-dev game studio, we now focus on solving some of the most difficult problems that face multiplayer games — and we bring our experience working on games like PUBG, League of Legends, and Rocket League with us. We truly love the work we do and we want to funnel our passion and expertise into features and games that billions of players will enjoy worldwide. 

About the Role

Rushdown Studios is looking for a Technical Director specializing in Unreal Engine to join us in support of our partner studio! In this role, you’ll work on challenging projects to develop a range of features within Unreal Engine, which may include engine modifications, gameplay, UI, networking, rendering, and/or tools.

Our ideal candidate is a self-motivated and demonstrated leader with the ability to juggle and jump between different tasks as necessary, including mentoring other team members working across a range of projects. Prior game development experience is required for this role, but we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements listed below!

Work Location: Rushdown Studios is based in Saratoga Springs, NY and we have a strong preference for local candidates willing to work from our office on a hybrid basis (i.e., Tuesday-Thursday). However, we also support fully remote work for candidates living across New York State or one of the other states in which we're currently registered to conduct business (e.g., CA, CT, GA, KS, MA, MD, MI, NC, OH, PA, TX, WI).

• Develop a wide variety of features for games utilizing Unreal Engine.
• Estimate and prioritize a backlog of existing features, bugs, and tech debt.
• Partner with designers to iterate on features and optimize for a smoother player experience.
• Collaborate with external partners to integrate new features for multiplayer games and ensure their features run as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Collaborate internally with studio, engineering, and production leadership to identify new projects and growth opportunities for the team, as a whole.
• Conduct code reviews, providing constructive feedback to your peers and exemplifying the ability to write quality code.
• Debug issues as they arise on both PC and console.

• Seven (7) or more years of professional experience working on multiplayer games, including a primary focus on developing in Unreal Engine.
• Professional experience leading a team, either through direct leadership or mentorship of less-experienced team members.
• Excellent C/C++ programming skills and the ability to architect a variety of gameplay mechanics and systems.
• Experience developing SDKs or plugins used by other developers you may not be working with directly.
• Experience developing games for consoles and integrating with console SDKs.
• Proficiency with third-party service integrations.
• Understanding of various Unreal Engine technologies, such as the Gameplay Ability System (GAS), UI tooling (e.g., UMG and Slate), asset systems (e.g., Asset Registry and Asset Async Loading), and rendering features (e.g., Nanite, Lumen).
• Familiarity with Entity Component Systems and, preferably, firsthand experience with Unreal’s MassEntity system.
• Experience with Unreal’s networking framework and an understanding of low-level networking fundamentals.
• Proactive approach to communication, particularly when it comes to unblocking your fellow engineers and navigating obstacles as part of a team.
• Willingness to selflessly put player experiences first — before even your own code and ego.

• Experience extending the editor by introducing custom tooling to improve workflows.
• Experience developing both single-player and multiplayer games.
• Experience with performance optimization and profiling in Unreal.
• Experience with porting.
• A passion for games and the underlying technology that powers them.

• Compensation: $140,000-175,000/year. Please note that final base pay will ultimately depend upon a combination of factors, including your prior experience, general qualifications, and broader skill set.
• 9 Paid Holidays plus Flexible PTO and Annual Winter Break Closure
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Annual Video Game Budget
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Paid Parental Leave

At Rushdown Studios, we believe that we're made better by each of the different perspectives that our team members bring to the table. We said it above, and we'll say it again: We want to hear from you, even if you don't meet all of the requirements for a specific role.

We're also an equal opportunity employer and we do not discriminate on the basis of race; color; ancestry or national origin; religion; physical or mental disability; age; sex, including pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender, gender identity, or gender expression; medical condition; genetic information; or marital, military, or veteran status.