Senior Tools Engineer Microsoft
Santa Monica, CA

Job Description

The Initiative is a new first-party game studio located in Santa Monica backed by Microsoft. Our studio is about craft, creating story, innovating, and looking ahead to the next big thing.

At the Initiative, we are looking for collaborative problem solvers who want to dive into something new and create groundbreaking experiences for our players. Join us for this once in a career opportunity to help build the studio, define our culture, and create an environment to attract world-class talent.

As a Senior Tools Engineer, you will be well versed in current game development pipelines with an eye to going above and beyond the current state of the art. You will be able to implement the technology needed to ship AAA games now and in the future, working closely with the art, design and animation disciplines. You are versatile, have strong development and production-sense, and the expertise to inspire and empower others to do their best work.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

* Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical experience.
* 5+ years of C++ software engineering experience.
* 3+ years of experience in designing, developing, and shipping games or other media with market or critical acclaim.
* Experience in tools, content pipeline and systems in support of art and design.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Excellent debugging and optimizing skills.
* Ability to quickly prototype and iterate in collaboration with others.
* Self-directed and takes initiative to drive progress.
* Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skill.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

* As an experienced Tools Engineer, you will work directly with the design, art and engineering teams to deliver the following:
* Establish and improve content creation pipelines capable of hitting a AAA quality bar.
* Develop elegant designs and tests that enable new features without negatively impacting existing features and prevent future systemic issues.
* Work closely with other members of the team to ensure robust and shippable code is created across the board.
* Ensure that the team is well versed on how to use features and that those features work well within the overall code base.
* Maintain strong relationships between the different disciplines.
* Actively contribute to growth of new start up studio. Lead by example, including demonstrating a willingness to give and receive feedback, collaborate with others to share techniques, ideas, and contribute to a positive working environment.