We're currently developing Responding, an open-world emergency services simulator built in Unreal Engine 5, set in a New York-inspired environment.
The project is already live on Steam and focuses heavily on systemic simulation, including large-scale AI traffic, emergency response gameplay, and open-world interactions.
We're looking for a Senior Gameplay & AI Systems Programmer to help design, build, and own the gameplay and AI systems that drive our living world.
What you'll be working on:
- AI architecture and decision-making systems.
- Police, Fire, EMS, Criminal, and Civilian AI behaviors.
- Large-scale traffic AI and simulation.
- Unreal Engine Mass framework (processors, fragments, entity systems).
- Gameplay systems that interact with AI and the open world.
- Perception, navigation, group coordination, and tactical behaviors.
- Building scalable, data-driven systems for an open-world simulation.
Our goal is to create AI that behaves naturally within a dynamic world, responding intelligently to changing situations rather than relying on heavily scripted behavior.
We're looking for someone who:
- Has extensive professional experience with Unreal Engine 5 and C++
- Has designed and implemented large gameplay or AI systems.
- Thinks in scalable systems rather than one-off gameplay features.
- Has experience with AI architecture, behavior systems, or simulation-based gameplay.
- Is comfortable taking ownership of complex technical features.
- Can collaborate closely with designers and programmers while proposing technical solutions.
You do NOT need to be an expert in every Unreal subsystem. We value strong engineering fundamentals, systems thinking, and problem-solving over a perfect checklist.
Bonus experience:
- Unreal Engine Mass framework.
- ECS / Data-Oriented Design.
- Utility AI, GOAP, Behavior Trees, State Machines, or similar AI architectures.
- Open-world simulation or sandbox games.
- Multiplayer gameplay systems.
- Traffic AI or large-scale NPC simulation.
- Performance optimization and multithreading.
Project context:
- Open-world UE5 project.
- Already released on Steam (early-stage but actively growing).
- Small, focused team with a strong technical foundation.
- Long-term development with ongoing content and system expansion.
Engagement:
- Contract-based (with potential for long-term collaboration).
Remote:
- Flexible scope depending on your strengths
How to apply:
Send:
- Portfolio, GitHub, or examples of relevant work.
- Brief explanation of your experience designing gameplay or AI systems.
(Optional) A short breakdown of the most technically challenging gameplay or AI system you've personally built, your role in its implementation, and the biggest challenges you solved.
Contact: [email protected] / Discord: #DySands
