Lead Game Engineer

About Side

https://www.side.inc.Side is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 15+ studios in over a dozen countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets.

About the role

At Side, we believe great games are born from collaboration, clarity, and creativity. We are looking for a passionate Lead game engineer who thrives on solving complex technical challenges and building impactful gaming experiences. In this role, you'll develop core systems, optimize performance, support live operations, and collaborate with diverse teams to bring creative visions to life. You'll also help drive technical strategy, mentor talent, and shape development best practices across global partnerships. You will initially focus on an internal project but will evolve into a co-development (codev) services role, supporting external partners and projects once the internal phase concludes.

What will you do:

• Design, build, and optimize gameplay systems, AI behaviors, animation pipelines, or core engine architecture
• Develop and maintain tools that empower content creators, designers, and QA teams
• Contribute to Live Ops, build pipelines, or deployment systems for scalable and stable game delivery
• Implement and refine networking, multiplayer architecture, or backend services for seamless player experiences
• Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to ensure smooth integration of art, design, and systems
• Profile and optimize performance, memory usage, and load times across platforms
• Troubleshoot bugs, resolve bottlenecks, and propose clean, maintainable solutions
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact between internal teams and global partners.
• Mentor and support associate engineers/programmers/developers.
• Contribute to developing processes and best practices that will later support external co-development projects.

Requirements

What are we looking for:

• 5 or more years of professional experience in engineering roles in games or related tech fields, with at least 2 years in a lead or senior producer capacity.
• Shipped at least one title on PC, console, mobile, or VR/AR
• Experience in two or more areas such as gameplay, AI, tools, systems, engine, animation tech, backend services, cloud, or DevOps
• Proven experience working with multi-disciplinary teams in game development.

Required technical Skills:

• Proficiency in C++, C#, Python, or equivalent languages
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine, or proprietary engines
• Familiarity with source control, debugging tools, performance profiling, and agile workflows

Collaboration and Communication

• Comfortable working in cross-functional teams with artists, designers, and producers
• Clear written and verbal communication for documenting and sharing technical solutions

Mindset

• Proactive, curious, and solution-oriented
• Passionate about games, scalable systems, and collaborative development

Preferred Skills

• Experience with AAA pipelines, real-time rendering, or platform certification
• Exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP and CI/CD pipelines
• Familiarity with Live Ops strategies, telemetry, and remote content deployment
• Prior co-dev experience or working with distributed teams

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Positive, Collaborative Company Culture
• Attractive Local & Regional Benefits
• You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.
• We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.

About Side

Side (formerly PTW) is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 20 studios in 14 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. 

Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets. 

Experience our side of life. For more information, visit www.side.inc

5+ years of professional engineering experience in games or tech, with at least 2 years in a lead or senior capacity. Shipped at least one title on PC, console, mobile, or VR/AR. Experience in two or more areas like gameplay, AI, tools, systems, engine, animation tech, backend, cloud, or DevOps. Proven experience with multi-disciplinary game development teams. Proficiency in C++, C#, Python, or equivalent. Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine or proprietary engines. Familiarity with source control, debugging tools, performance profiling, and agile workflows. Clear written and verbal communication. Proactive, curious, and solution-oriented mindset.