Elevation is re-establishing the boundaries of VR and Aardvark Swift is supporting that journey with the search for a talented Senior AI Programmer to join their team. You will help the studio explore, create, and deliver world-leading innovation in software and VR hardware. Become one of the founding members of Elevation, pathfinding a remote first studio, crafting a new generation of VR development and bringing core VR games to fruition.
As a Senior AI Programmer, you will be responsible for developing and driving the AI systems that interpret the world and control the actions of characters and creatures in Unreal. Your work will help nDreams provide a level of immersion and presence that has not yet been seen in VR games while ensuring the gameplay is fun, engaging and satisfying. You will be working in collaboration with a diverse team of programmers, designers and artists to create genre-leading titles, driving the discovery, implementation and refinement of intuitive and aspirational VR games.
Your responsibilities…
Develop and refine the perception, behaviour and planning systems that underly NPC and creature AI, integrating with Unreal 5 AI systems, gameplay systems and animation
Develop the controlling logic for NPC character behaviour utilizing standard Unreal AI systems, your own code and new UE5 AI tech like Mass Entity and State Trees
Ensure AI systems and data are robust, maintainable and well documented, and AI workload is consistently performant for a stable VR framerate
Work alongside other disciplines, planning AI alongside animation, gameplay, art, audio and design requirements for best player experience
Help guide the design teams when making combat areas and other AI-driven experiences
Help with project planning for your areas of work, liaising with project management for best outcomes and predictable timely feature delivery
Self-develop your own knowledge of state-of-the-art AI techniques and the inner nuances of Unreal 5’s AI systems
Be a positive behavioural and mental role model for the team and studio
The skills and experience you’ll bring to the role…
3+ years of professional AI programming experience, with a minimum of one shipped title on a current-generation console, PC, VR headset or mobile
A thorough knowledge of C++ including high-performance programming and good 3D math skills
Thorough knowledge of underlying AI systems including state machines, behaviour trees, perception/navigation systems and animation/physics requirements
Experience delivering compelling AI combat with believable navigation, cover, tactical enemy squad coordination, and strategic high-level AI planning
Shipped game title(s) with believable and engaging AI behaviour using a modern game engine, delivering a balanced, enjoyable player experience
A passion for working with level design, animation and other disciplines, clearly communicating AI needs and best practices, enabling the creation of challenging and satisfying player experiences
Strong English communication skills with a focus on positive cross-discipline teamwork and an ability to communicate complex technical information to non-technical staff
A committed team player, recognizing the importance and value of people within a technology environment
It’s a bonus if you have...
Professional experience in VR game development
Professional experience developing AI using Unreal
Prior experience with Perforce and Visual studio
Experience developing for PlayStation, Xbox, Steam or Oculus
Perks and benefits include…
Private healthcare
Enhanced family policies
Wellbeing and mental health support
Opportunities to work abroad
Two Duvet Days a year and birthdays off
Death in service cover
Flexible working
Funded personal development opportunities
About nDreams
nDreams Studio Elevation is bringing the evolution of VR development to core gamers.
This is an all-new studio seeded by the creative talent that brought you the innovative, genre-defining award-winning VR title Phantom: Covert Ops.
They are looking for exceptional talent to help pave the way forward with fresh innovation for the next generation of VR hardware and software.
This is the opportunity to build upon an already proven, world-class foundation of VR expertise, to further shape and mould a new way of working, that continues to deliver and innovate for the next generation of core VR games.
They are a remote-first studio, with all the perks that come with it. Work from anywhere to push the boundaries of VR with cutting-edge technology and the support of established VR expertise from the wider nDreams group.
Rapidly growing to support a variety of genres, nDreams is one of the world’s leading developers/publishers focused on VR games, creating multiple studios dedicated to making the best games out there.
