Software Engineer, Cinematic Tools

Santa Monica·Posted 12d ago
aipythonnodenode.js
<p><strong>Summary</strong></p> <p>We are seeking a highly experienced and collaborative Software Engineer to help drive the design, implementation, and support of tools for Absurd’s cinematic content pipeline.</p> <p>As a Cinematics Pipeline Tools Engineer, you will be passionate about developing tools and systems that enable animators, audio engineers, and cinematic producers to create world-class cinematic content for our games.</p> <p>Your mission will be to ensure a streamlined process for moving content from capture through a variety of production tools and ultimately into our games. You will work across a broad range of technologies and workflows, developing C# tools to automate audio and motion capture collection and processing; C# and Node.js tools to support studio operations such as scheduling and actor database management; tools for ingesting assets into Unreal Engine; C++ and Python tools for moving content to and from external applications such as Premiere, Maya, and Pro Tools; and C++ tools for working with cinematic content directly within Unreal Engine.</p> <p><strong>Core Responsibilities</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Work directly with leadership from Absurd’s production department to identify audio and motion capture toolchain requirements, and then build, test, and support those tools.</li> <li>Support and guide work done by creative staff who use agentic coding as part of their regular workflows.</li> <li>Interface with animators, audio engineers, cinematic producers to design, implement, and support tools for ingesting, authoring, and exporting cinematic content.</li> <li>Participate in technical planning, task estimation, and milestone reviews.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li>Work directly with studio production staff to provide troubleshooting and support during production shoots.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Core Qualifications</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>5+ years of professional game development experience with a focus on systems for cinematic content capture, management, and authoring</li> <li>2+ years of professional experience working in Unreal Engine, ideally with experience working with Unreal Sequencer, animation systems, and audio systems</li> <li>1+ year professional experience developing desktop applications in C# or similar language</li> <li>Ability and desire to thrive in a fast-paced production environment</li> <li>Superb written and verbal communication skills. You will be working with a wide range of studio staff with very different technical skillsets</li> <li>Comfortable using AI coding agents and helping non-engineers use them</li> <li>Comfortable working in both PC and Mac environments</li> <li>Shipped at least one AAA title in an engineering role</li> <li>A customer-centric mindset with excellent problem-solving and technical troubleshooting skills</li> <li>Thirst to learn, experiment, and grow in a rapidly evolving technical environment</li> </ul> <p><strong>Plus if...</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Hands-on experience developing support tooling for Wwise, ProTools, Premiere, Da DaVinci Resolve, and/or Maya</li> <li>Experience working with motion capture systems like Captury and Xsens</li> <li>Experience working with narrative authoring systems like Articy&nbsp;</li> <li>Experience working with automation pipelines like Horde, TeamCity, or Jenkins</li> </ul> <p><strong><em><span data-contrast="auto">Description</span></em></strong><em><span data-contrast="auto"> </span></em><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Full-time job with benefits. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Office is located near downtown Santa Monica – near metro and freeways. </span></li> </ul> <p><span data-ccp-props="{}">The base pay range for this position is $130,000 to $155,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>