Lead Gameplay Engineer

About the Hiring Team

Welcome to Lightspeed LA, the first U.S.-based, AAA game development studio for Tencent Games. Lightspeed LA is focused on building open‑world games that emphasize an ambitious living world, sophisticated player‑driven gameplay, and mature, thoughtful storytelling. We are developing the first in a series of genre‑defining titles.
Why join Lightspeed LA?

We foster an open and transparent environment where everyone feels comfortable providing constructive feedback about all aspects of our games. We encourage the showing of work that is still in progress, celebrate its promise, and practice a No Blame Culture where we blame the problem, not the person.
This is a safe place to fail; we do not view failure as negative but as the natural result of pushing boundaries and trying new things. We create together, face challenges together, and succeed together.
The Role Entails

Lead Gameplay Engineer – Lead a gameplay engineering team to craft the development of innovative gameplay content systems and experiences. Collaborate with design, production, and engineering leadership to manage the gameplay schedule and backlog. Implement, debug and optimise gameplay systems in C/C++ and other languages. Author lean, high‑performance, maintainable code. Cultivate strong cross‑disciplinary working relationships with honesty and transparency across departments.
Leadership and Management

Provide technical leadership across multiple gameplay systems and features.
Mentor, develop, and learn from engineering colleagues.
Serve as a leadership resource for engineers across the entire gameplay team.
Help build and maintain an open and energetic team culture.
Conduct regular one‑on‑one meetings with team members to provide guidance, feedback, and support their professional development.
Participate in recruitment and onboarding of new team members, ensuring a diverse and skilled team aligned with project requirements.
Facilitate team‑building activities to promote a positive and collaborative working environment.
Who We Look For

Experience working in Unreal Engine.
Passion and enthusiasm for creating fun and engaging gameplay through iteration and innovation.
Experience bringing multiple large‑scale game titles to completion on PC and consoles.
7+ years of professional game programming experience.
Experience managing direct reports.
Experience performing in a senior or principal software engineering role or equivalent.
Ability to collaborate with other engineers, designers, artists and other game developers.
Ability to work well in a fluid, changing environment as creative challenges evolve.
Deep knowledge of gameplay systems involving AI, animation, physics, and character‑related systems from engine to game.
Expertise in C++, debugging, and 3D mathematics.
Enjoy working closely with creative and technical team members.
Value lean, simple, efficient, well‑tested code.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred

Experience with game console hardware.
Understanding of game asset pipelines.
Perks and Benefits

Free daily lunch.
Beverages, fresh fruit, and snacks.
401(k) with employer match.
Monthly cell phone bill reimbursement.
Financial wellness sessions.
Flexible spending account.
Team building and company outings.
Parental leave for new parents.
Company‑paid health insurance.
Life and disability insurance.
Employee assistance program.
Wellness training.
Travel insurance.
Preventive care.
The expected base pay range for this position in the location(s) listed above is $168,500.00 to $347,200.00 per year. Actual pay may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Employees hired for this position may be eligible for a sign‑on payment, relocation package, and restricted stock units, which will be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis. Subject to the terms and conditions of the plans in effect, hired applicants are also eligible for medical, dental, vision, life and disability benefits, and participation in the Company’s 401(k) plan. The employee is also eligible for up to 15 to 25 days of vacation per year (depending on the employee’s tenure), up to 13 days of holidays throughout the calendar year, and up to 10 days of paid sick leave per year. Your benefits may be adjusted to reflect your location, employment status, duration of employment with the company, and position level. Benefits may also be pro‑rated for those who start working during the calendar year.
If the above sounds like you, or if you’d like to know more about the role, we’d love to hear from you to see if we might be a good fit for each other! Contact us for more information about this exciting opportunity.
Location: Irvine, California, US
Equal Employment Opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, we firmly believe that diverse voices fuel our innovation and allow us to better serve our users and the community. We foster an environment where every employee of Tencent feels supported and inspired to achieve individual and common goals.

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