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Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we are assembling a world-class team of visionaries, builders, and passionate gamers who thrive on creative collaboration, technical excellence, and bold ideas. At Small Axe Studios, we believe big things start with sharp focus—and we’re crafting an exceptional, player-first experience from the ground up. If you’re ready to tackle unique challenges, leave your mark on a brand-new IP, and help shape the future of interactive sports entertainment, we want you on our team! What We Need We are looking for a Senior Gameplay Engineer to contribute to the development of new animation features and gameplay mechanics at our new studio. In this role, you will be working closely with Animators, Design and Production to develop nuanced and sophisticated animation behaviors that authentically replicate the beautiful, continuous flow of modern field sports. You will help build the foundation, then iterate and innovate upon it to polish world-class, pitch-perfect gameplay for what will be the next massive sports franchise in our industry. What You Will Do Collaborate closely with gameplay engineers / designers to identify and develop new gameplay features Feature owner of key animation-driven gameplay mechanics, including complex locomotion, physical duels, and intricate foot-to-object interactions Support requests and features for content creation tools and animation review, helping translate authentic athlete physics, momentum, and sudden changes of direction into interactive systems Assist engineers in making the best use of existing and new animation features Keep up to date with the latest industry work and implement these techniques Write and maintain robust and performant code Optimize code and debug animation issues as they arise What Will Make You A Great Fit Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent work experience) Excellent 3D math and linear algebra skills Solid familiarity and experience with C++ 3+ years of proven experience working with animation or gameplay systems Implementation experience in one or more of the following areas: inverse kinematics techniques, procedural animation techniques, keyframe animation and forward kinematics Ability to explain technical topics to people of varying levels of expertise An eye for detail in creating dynamic, authentic, and responsive character animation A deep love for video games (not just ours!) and a passion for sports culture, tracking everything from tactical team formations to what happens from the opening whistle to the final second of extra time Beneficial Qualifications E xperience developing and shipping AAA games on Unreal Engine 4 and 5 Master’s/PhD in a related field with a focus on animation related topics Familiarity with Python and/or C# The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between $96,400 and $142,660 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Please note that 2K Games and its studios never uses instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts.
Here's how to pick the right one and stand out in your application.
144.883Jobs
31.687IN
81%EN
That number is real. WorkMundi's database shows 144,883 open engineer roles across the world. India has the most with 31,687 jobs, followed by the United States with 30,084. If you just finished reading one job ad and felt paralyzed by choice, you're not alone—but this scale is actually an advantage. It means you can afford to be selective.
Start by geography and language. The majority of engineer ads—117,837 of them—have the job posting text written in English. Use that as one filter, but remember: the ad text language tells you nothing about whether the role actually requires you to speak English day-to-day. Read the job description carefully. Then check which countries have the volume you're targeting. Singapore, Poland, and Australia round out the top five after India and the US.
Next, learn who's hiring. Accenture has posted 2,801 engineer roles. andurilindustries, speechify, and jobgether are also actively recruiting. If you're applying to one of these names, research their hiring patterns and interview style before you apply. That homework pays off.
When you interview, expect the question every engineer hears: 'Tell me about a time you had to debug a problem that wasn't in your job description.' Have a specific story ready—not a general one. Name the tools, the deadline pressure, and what you learned. Hiring managers listen for whether you see problem-solving as part of the role itself, not a favour.