Senior Gameplay Engineer | AAA Xbox Partnered Studio

As a Senior Gameplay Engineer at CaptureAge, you will play a pivotal role in designing and implementing core gameplay systems and features for the Age of Empires franchise, and work closely with designers, artists, and other engineers to create engaging and high-performance gameplay experiences that captivate players.

This role is a part of our game development team working directly on Age of Empires titles including Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Mythology: Retold, not on our independent CaptureAge application.

Key responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize gameplay systems and features in C++ to meet the technical and creative requirements
• Write clean, efficient, and maintainable code while adhering to best practices and coding standards
• Work closely with gameplay designers, artists, and other engineers to integrate gameplay features seamlessly into the game
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, ensuring smooth gameplay across PC and console platforms
• Debug and fix gameplay issues, ensuring high-quality and stable gameplay experiences
• Evaluate design requirements, provide estimates, and technical feasibility for new features
• Maintain comprehensive documentation for gameplay systems and features, ensuring clear understanding across the team
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative development environment

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Software Engineer in game development, preferably in AAA studios
• Strong proficiency in C++ and a deep understanding of game engine architecture and gameplay mechanics
• Strong understanding of gameplay principles, usability, and user-centered design methodologies
• Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues and implement effective solutions
• Comfortable and confident working in legacy codebases and dynamic environments

Skills

• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Enthusiastic about delivering great experiences for players of a legendary franchise
• Excellent written and spoken English

Nice to have

• Console development experience
• Custom C++ Game Engine Experience
• Working knowledge and experience with the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines

Application Process

Please answer our form that briefly outlines why you are interested in this role and why your experience and skills make you a good fit. To demonstrate your attention to detail, include the phrase “Battle Elephant” somewhere when filling the application form.

About CaptureAge

CaptureAge is a company that grew out of the Age of Empires community and is now partnered with Xbox Game Studios to provide game development services in AAA titles like Age of Empires II and Age of Empires IV. We have a small (35+) but growing team of passionate game developers, from artists to software engineers.

Inclusivity and Fairness

The people making games should be as diverse as the people playing them and we encourage applications from all backgrounds and identities. As a fully remote and internationally distributed company we are a team that enjoys and celebrates a diversity of voices and perspectives.

Compensation

Our compensation is determined by considering competitive market rates, experience, and cost of living. As a fully international company, we strive to ensure competitive compensation aligned with the local cost of living and market standards.

Fully Remote – Location / Time Zones

We are a fully remote company with team members in 20+ countries across many time zones. We prefer team members who fit within broadly American/African/European time zones (UTC-8 to UTC+3) but we are open to applications from anywhere.

Hours/Time Management

We have a flexible approach to time-management, and we believe in giving team members the opportunity to control their own schedules. We'd like to see a world in which work can fit around your life, not the other way around! In practice this means a few pre-agreed sync points a week, with the rest of your working time entirely up to you – we do not have mandatory core hours.

Async Biased

We lean towards async working arrangements and design our processes and working environment with this in mind.

Consensus Driven

We try to foster a genuinely collaborative and consensus driven approach to our work rather than top-down direction and micro-management.