Senior Programmer (AI, Engine, Rendering, UI)

About the role

NBCUniversal is looking for a Senior Programmer in Montreal to design, implement and maintain core systems in Unreal Engine that support gameplay, visuals, AI behaviour and user experience. You will work on performance-critical systems and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams so that features are scalable, maintainable and production-ready. The role covers four specializations: Engine, Rendering, AI and UI.

Key responsibilities

• Design, implement and maintain systems and features in Unreal Engine, translating requirements into clean, maintainable and scalable C++ code.
• Collaborate with designers, artists and other engineers to integrate features across systems.
• Optimize systems for performance, memory usage and scalability across supported platforms, and take part in profiling and performance analysis.
• Maintain and improve existing code, debug complex issues, and contribute to technical discussions on architecture and workflows.
• Take ownership of complex systems in your specialization and mentor junior programmers through technical guidance and code reviews.
• Playtest and review games, and stay current with Unreal Engine updates and real-time development best practices.
• Engine: core engine systems such as memory management, threading, streaming and platform abstraction, plus engine-level optimizations and source modifications.
• Rendering: shaders, materials, lighting, post-processing and rendering pipelines, optimized for GPU performance.
• AI: behaviour trees, state machines and decision-making frameworks for navigation, perception and gameplay-driven AI.
• UI: HUDs, menus, overlays and in-game tools built with UMG / Slate, integrated with gameplay, input and animation.

Required profile

• At least 6-8 years of professional game programming experience, with shipped titles or equivalent production experience.
• Strong C++ proficiency and hands-on experience with Unreal Engine, including engine features relevant to your specialization.
• Strong understanding of real-time systems development, including performance, memory and scalability.
• Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills, and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with version control systems such as Perforce or Git.
• Preferred: AAA or large-scale game experience, familiarity with Unreal Engine source code, and mentoring experience.