Principal Engine Programmer - Engine Systems / C++

Principal Engine Programmer - Engine Systems / C++

A frontier AI and defense technology company backed by significant funding is hiring a Principal Engineer to build the next generation of high-performance game engines supporting advanced wargaming and modeling applications.

You'll join a highly technical team working at the intersection of C++, physics-based simulation, real-time systems and defense, building the core software that enables complex environments and thousands of interacting entities to be simulated at scale. This is fundamentally an engine development role - focused on the underlying runtime, architecture, performance and systems that make large-scale simulation possible.

This is a hands-on, deeply technical C++ position. You'll design and implement core game engine capabilities, develop high-performance systems for managing large numbers of entities and interactions, and solve challenging problems around memory, concurrency, execution models and runtime performance. You'll work close to the underlying engine rather than simply configuring or using an existing simulation platform. You'll be responsible for building reusable simulation infrastructure and engine-level capabilities, creating the foundations on which increasingly sophisticated physics and operational models can run. This includes developing entity/component systems, simulation runtimes, event-driven systems, scheduling and execution frameworks, and the tooling required to extend and maintain the engine over time.

The role is particularly suited to engineers who have worked on game engines, physics engines, robotics simulation, real-time simulation, large-scale wargaming or other performance-critical C++ systems and who enjoy working close to the metal.

Experience Required:

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Expert-level C++ programming experience in production environments
• Experience developing commercial game engines
• Strong understanding of memory management, concurrency, multithreading and performance optimisation
• Experience designing systems capable of handling large numbers of entities and interactions
• Strong understanding of algorithms, data structures and software architecture
• Experience building reusable engine/framework infrastructure, SDKs, plugins or extensible platforms
• Experience with ECS / entity-component architectures, real-time systems or distributed simulation is highly desirable
• Experience with physics-based simulation or mathematical/physical modelling is highly desirable
• Python experience for tooling, automation or supporting infrastructure is useful but not the core of the role

This is an opportunity to work on genuinely challenging engine-level C++ problems with direct applications to advanced defense and wargaming. You'll be building the underlying technology that allows sophisticated simulated worlds to run efficiently at scale, from the simulation runtime and entity systems through to the performance-critical C++ infrastructure underneath them.

If you're a hardcore C++ engineer who wants to build simulation technology rather than simply use it, this is an opportunity to work on some of the most technically demanding problems in the space, alongside a team operating at the cutting edge of simulation and defense technology.

Apply now for immediate consideration.