Blackbird Interactive

Lead Software Engineer, Platform and Console Systems (Proprietary C++ Engine)

  • Blackbird Interactive

Job Description

We are looking for a Lead Software Engineer to help port a proprietary AAA game engine to current gen console systems. You will lead the technical direction and execution across performance-critical platform systems including memory, CPU scheduling, streaming and I/O, and platform SDK integration. Targets include PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2, as well as PC. This role is remote-friendly in Canada with Pacific-time overlap required.


What You’ll Lead and Deliver
  • Lead the effort to port and harden a proprietary AAA game engine for current gen consoles, ensuring performance, stability, and production readiness.
  • Own the platform and console roadmap for core engine-facing systems across PC and consoles, balancing performance, reliability, and delivery timelines.
  • Drive engine-level performance improvements focused on frame-time stability, hitch reduction, load-time reduction, memory efficiency, and scalability across CPU cores.
  • Architect and optimize memory systems including allocators, pools, tagging, lifetime tracking, streaming heaps, fragmentation mitigation, OOM safety, and platform budget enforcement.
  • Build and evolve I/O and streaming foundations including async file I/O, decompression pipelines, asset streaming, prioritization, bandwidth and latency hiding, and patch-friendly data layouts.
  • Improve CPU scheduling and concurrency including job systems, task granularity, contention reduction, cache locality, false sharing mitigation, and thread affinity strategies.
  • Lead platform integration and abstraction layers with clean separation between platform-specific code and cross-platform engine systems. Maintain SDK-facing pipelines and compliance readiness.
  • Establish performance guardrails including budgets, best practices, validation checks, regression detection, automated benchmarks and captures, and telemetry for early detection of issues.
  • Partner cross-discipline with gameplay, rendering, audio, content, and build and release teams to align features and content goals with platform constraints and budgets.
  • Mentor and raise the bar through design reviews, debugging approaches, and best practices. Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and team standards.
  • Communicate clearly to production and stakeholders on constraints, trade-offs, risks, and actionable plans for platform readiness.

    • You'll Thrive Here if you
  • 5+ years of professional game development or performance-critical systems experience, with demonstrated technical leadership through project ownership, mentorship, and setting standards.
  • Expert-level modern C++ and systems debugging skills including multithreading, low-lock patterns, profiling-driven optimization, and low-level investigations.
  • Deep understanding of console constraints and performance fundamentals including CPU architecture, cache and memory hierarchy, storage, I/O characteristics, and platform-specific trade-offs.
  • Track record of shipping or supporting production console titles and improving stability, frame pacing, memory behavior, and load times in real-world conditions.
  • Comfortable defining and enforcing budgets for CPU, memory, and I/O, and partnering with content teams to keep the game performant and stable.
  • Strong ownership mindset with a focus on maintainable solutions, practical prioritization, and team success under deadlines.

    • Pluses
  • Shipped at least one title on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and or Nintendo hardware, especially in platform, performance, or engine roles.
  • Hands-on expertise with custom allocators, memory tagging, fragmentation analysis, and crash and telemetry-driven stability improvements.
  • Proven experience with streaming and async loading systems including decompression, on-demand loading, prioritization, and large-world or content-heavy constraints.
  • Experience with job systems and frame-time stability work including contention, false sharing, CPU and GPU sync points, and task scheduling strategies.
  • Strong familiarity with platform profiling workflows and internal diagnostics including PIX and equivalent console tooling.

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