Tobspr Games, the studio behind shapez and shapez 2, is building one of the greatest factory and automation games ever made. We’re looking for a Principal C++ Engineer to design and own the core simulation engine that will power the game. A deterministic, high-performance system capable of simulating millions of entities across multiple planets. This is a deeply technical, architecture-defining role for an engineer who thrives at the intersection of systems design, real-time simulation, and game development. You’ll be a founding technical pillar on an all-new engineering team, shaping standards and decisions from the ground up.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Architect, own, and build the Gameplay Core (Pure C++) DLL: a deterministic, lockstep, multithreaded simulation running at 4Hz, capable of handling millions of entities across multiple planets.
- Apply data-oriented design patterns and implement robust serialisation for large persistent state.
- Design and deliver the DLL + Unreal Plugin integration layer.
- Define, own, and enforce code quality standards across the entire project.
- Document architectural decisions, technical standards, and design rationale, ensuring all developers are aligned.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 10+ years of professional C++ experience.
- Strong foundation in software architecture, performance optimisation, graph theory, algorithms, and modularity.
- Demonstrated experience designing and shipping deterministic and/or multithreaded simulations (lockstep, fixed-point or controlled floating point, deterministic data structures).
- Experience with save/load systems for large, persistent game or simulation state.
- Background in games, simulation, or another domain where you’ve shipped real-time systems to end users.
- Proven experience leading others in technical direction.
- Experience working in at least one fully remote team.
- Nice to have: Unreal Engine experience, including plugin/module authoring (UHT, UBT) and Hands-on experience with factory or automation games, even as a player.
WHAT WE OFFER:
- Fully remote, full-time position with flexible scheduling.
- Healthy work-life balance culture, and paid overtime when it happens.
- Monthly personal growth allowance for courses, books, or other learning materials.
- Focus days dedicated to researching or learning new skills.
- Team gatherings are organised once a year to meet and collaborate in person.
- Budget to set up or upgrade your home workspace, including the hardware of your choice.
- Yearly salary review to ensure your pay keeps pace with market standards, and an automatic increase of 2% per year.
ABOUT US:
A small indie studio focused on creating thoughtful, deeply satisfying factory and automation games that players truly love.The team started with web games, found success on PC, and has since grown into a distributed team delivering highly rated simulation experiences. We value:
- Direct communication and ownership over unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Player-first design shaped by close collaboration with the community.
- Long-term partnerships with people who want to grow alongside their projects.
- Team size: ~15 people, slowly growingWork mode: Fully remoteEngine: UnityPlatform: PC
