Gameplay AI Software Engineer, Original Game (Unreal Engine 5)

Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres. Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements. At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada. We are looking for a Gameplay AI Software Engineer to drive the technical direction and execution of a new original game being developed in Unreal Engine 5 . You will be embedded in a core gameplay team to implement gameplay features and systems within our games that are essential to delivering a polished, performant and fun experience. This role is remote-friendly in Canada with Pacific-time overlap required. What You’ll Lead and Deliver Work across disciplines to build, refactor and maintain a variety of robust, flexible, and well-architected AI features. Work with the design team to prototype and implement AI behaviors that empower the fun. Implement enemies, NPCs or any kind of AI managed characters. Work with gameplay engineers to integrate developed AI systems. Implement optimizations in perception systems and decision-making systems to make the AI performant. Work on navigation & pathfinding systems and demonstrate the ability to debug complex AI issues. Integrate and maintain AI middleware across all platforms. Partner closely with design and content teams to build high quality and fun experiences. Drive engineering quality across gameplay code, emphasizing performance, maintainability, extensibility, and production-readiness. Establish engineering best practices for Unreal Engine 5 development, including code review standards, debugging workflows, profiling habits, and technical planning. Collaborate with technical leadership to break down risks, define implementation strategies, and align engineering execution with project goals and production timelines. Communicate clearly with stakeholders about technical constraints, trade-offs, dependencies, and execution plans. You’ll Thrive Here If You Have 5+ years of professional game development experience , with demonstrated technical leadership through project ownership, mentorship, and setting engineering standards. Have strong professional experience with C++ and Unreal Engine , including gameplay architecture, runtime systems, debugging, and optimization. Have deep experience building and maintaining gameplay systems that are responsive, scalable, and designer-friendly. Advance knowledge on blueprints and AI decision making tools (Unreal behavior trees, utility AI, etc.). Demonstrate confidence in using navigation and pathfinding systems. Are comfortable working across systems boundaries, collaborating with multiple disciplines, and balancing short-term production needs with long-term technical health. Bring a strong ownership mindset, practical decision-making, and a focus on helping teams move effectively under production constraints. Bonus XP Experience with the Unreal Engine 5 systems, like Blackboards, StateTree, and EQS. Familiarity with Perforce, Jenkins, Unreal Build System, Unreal Gauntlet.