Senior Gameplay Engineer, Incubation - Games Studio

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

As a Sr. Gameplay Engineer on the ISX team you will be given the unique opportunity to unlock the potential of Netflix’s game controller driving new and innovative ways for our members to experience our games. You will focus on delivering gameplay prototypes that leverage both dual screen gameplay and using a phone as a flexible touch input for playing games on your TV.

The right candidate will have a blend of engineering and game design skills, which enables them to identify unique gameplay opportunities, break down what makes an experience “feel good,” and prove it with playable code. As a solo operator, you will be called upon to partner with creative leadership to identify new opportunities and drive rapid prototyping of them using pre-existing game engines, tools, and asset libraries. When the incubation phase of development ends you will continue your journey as part of a game team tasked with bringing innovative new cloud games to Netflix’s streaming platform. THE TEAM

ISX’s mission is to build the next generation of breakout hits, leveraging innovative gameplay married with beloved IPs and served seamlessly within the Netflix ecosystem. You will join the group of developers who are aligned with our core values, and care deeply about the experiences they create as well as the people they make them with. Those who bias towards action and are energized by the learning that comes with bold experimentation at an agile pace. As a part of Netflix, we strive to hire the best and value integrity, excellence, respect, inclusion, and collaboration. Responsibilities

• Drive gameplay Input and Control design:Partners with Head of Game Design to identify unique opportunities showcasing dual screen input & fun with touch gameplay. Outlines overall prototype design goals with a focus on input controls and player experience. Provides technical design documentation as needed for consumption by game teams & technology partners.

• Manage Technology Partnerships: Liaison with Games R&D and platform teams as needed to socialize game prototypes and their technology needs. Collaborates closely with other engineers to understand existing platform workflows, constraints, and future feature sets. Becomes the subject matter expert for ISX incubation teams on Netflix Game Controller.

• Delivers playable gameplay prototypes: Leverages existing platforms, technology, and asset libraries combined with custom code solution to deliver fully playable gameplay experiences to be used as proof of concept for future development projects.

• Ship Early & Often: Champions the player experience over perfection in craft. Seeks to learn quickly and ship often delivering rapidly evolving game prototypes that are both innovative and accessible.

The Ideal Candidate

• 7+ years experience as a gameplay engineer, with at least one shipped title as a sr or lead engineer

• Expertise in C++ or C#, and some experience with other common game coding languages

• Expertise in one or more commercial game engine technologies such as Unity3D and UnrealEngine

• Experienced in game incubation as a solo developer or small team

• Exceptional communication, cross-discipline collaboration skills

• A highly motivated and organized individual capable of setting clear goals and self-managing their schedule

• Passion for making video games, especially in a rapid, focused, smaller form vs multi-year investments

Bonus Skills

• Experienced working with external developers across multiple disciplines (Art, Audio, Narrative, Design, etc)

• Deep experience in game design, and has directly applied these skills to develop gameplay features

• Experience building games for emergent platforms with early / unfinished infrastructure

• Experience with rapid prototyping, with an emphasis with rapid learning

Location:

• Open to Remote, with LA or Orange County preferred

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 $90,000 - $600,000.

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 details about our Benefits here.

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.

Job is open for no less than 20 days and will be removed when the position is filled.