Senior Unreal Engine Developer

Jackbox Games is looking for a Senior Unreal Engine Developer to join our team!

Who are We?

Jackbox is a small game studio (~80 people) best known for our Jackbox Party Pack franchise: a set of five social party games released every fall. Since 2014, our games--like Quiplash, Drawful, and Trivia Murder Party-- have been featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, by Polygon, and in living rooms and finished basements across the world.

In 2020, we had over 200 million users. And we have hard evidence that one of those users was Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron.

You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about how our games work (spoiler: your phone is the controller!) and who we are and what we make at jackboxgames.com.

What’s the Job?

We’re looking for an experienced and driven Senior Unreal Engine Developer to join the team behind the newly announced Trivia Murder Party 3. This is a key role for someone who thrives in fast-paced, collaborative environments, has deep experience with multiplayer systems, Epic Online Services, and has helped ship at least one game.

You’ll be responsible for building the online and meta-game backbone of TMP3—matchmaking, progression, in-game purchases, leaderboards, and player identity—while supporting gameplay features and leading technical initiatives across the team. If you’re someone who operates with autonomy, takes accountability, and naturally uplifts others through mentorship and collaboration, we want to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement robust multiplayer and matchmaking systems using Unreal Engine and Epic Online Services (EOS).
• Build and maintain meta-game systems including:
• Player progression and unlocks
• In-game purchases and economy hooks
• Leaderboards, stats tracking, and achievements
• Persistent player profiles
• Collaborate closely with design, art, production, and other engineering teams to ensure online systems integrate cleanly into the core game loop and support a scalable live product.
• Own major technical features from architecture through delivery, including backend integration and optimization.
• Serve as a technical leader within the team: mentor junior engineers, establish best practices, and drive quality through code reviews and tooling improvements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve online performance and stability issues at scale.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve player experience, technical workflows, and team efficiency.
• Evaluate and advise on technical solutions and third-party tools for networking, monetization, analytics, and backend services in partnership with technical leadership.
  Collaborate with production and design leadership to scope features, break down complex systems into achievable milestones, and ensure technical feasibility.
• Contribute to the technical roadmap, identifying long-term risks, scalability bottlenecks, and areas for future investment.
• Collaborate with external teams to remove or lessen roadblocks for non-engineering contribution to the game and product.
• Prototype and validate new gameplay or platform features, especially those related to new game modes or emergent multiplayer experiences.
  

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience in game development with a strong emphasis on Unreal Engine (C++).
• Deep familiarity with Epic Online Services (EOS) and online multiplayer architecture.
• Demonstrated experience shipping at least one multiplayer title, ideally with live or ongoing content.
• Experience implementing or integrating meta-game features such as player progression, IAPs, and leaderboards.
• Strong grasp of networking fundamentals, scalability challenges, and client-server and/or P2P architecture.
• Comfortable leading initiatives and mentoring others while contributing directly to production code.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
• Familiarity with Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, or Nintendo Switch Online.
• Experience with backend services and providers (e.g., PlayFab, EOS Nakama, AWS/GCP).
• Interest in live game development and game analytics.
• Passion for party games or unique multiplayer formats like Jackbox-style experiences.

We value kind, motivated, and creative people. Jackbox Games is a group effort and you must work collaboratively. Everyone here is committed to excellence and desires to work in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere.

Jackbox Games is committed to providing opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, or disability. 

OKAY, BUT WHAT ARE THE PERKS?!

• Pay range: $148,985 - $228,055. Please note: individual compensation packages are based on factors unique to each candidate and position, including (but not limited to) skill set, experience, and qualifications.

• 401(k) with matching and various medical plans. We pay 100% of the cost of premiums for dental, vision, disability, and life insurance for our employees. We also cover a really nice chunk of the cost of premiums for spouse/partner/dependent medical, dental, and vision insurance. 
• Flexible work schedule and environment. Currently, our employees are encouraged to work where they feel the safest and most productive. Our office in Lincoln Park in Chicago is open (and fully stocked with snacks) for folks who prefer to work in the office. We also offer remote work in the following states: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• Flexible PTO. Take time off when you need to recharge, take a trip, or just catch up on life.
• Annual stipends for therapy, growth, wellness, and home office equipment to encourage our employees’ lifelong learning pursuits and support mental and physical health.
• Creative work environment. We are lucky to work in a place that is full of talented and innovative folks. Most of the day, the place is pretty quiet (we’re a focused bunch), but this is punctuated with hilarious outbursts and general merriment.
• Free food either virtually or in the office. We stock our kitchen with snacks as well as offer doordash credits quite frequently.

Interested?

Great, we look forward to reading your application. Please include:

• Your resume.
• A cover letter. You don't need to be a professional writer for this job (we have those) but communication is important so we weigh cover letters heavily.
• Why are you interested in working at Jackbox Games?
• What is your favorite game and why? There's no right answer and liking games isn’t required for the job. We mostly just want to know if you've read this far

On the fence? If you're interested in the job but worried you aren't qualified, we encourage you to err on the side of applying. We'd hate to miss out on great candidates just because they're worried they don't check every box on the job description.

We know it is a time commitment to prepare an application and we respect that effort by thoughtfully reviewing every complete application and responding one way or the other. But that kind of thoughtful review means that it sometimes takes us a while to get back to applicants, so please be patient with us and no phone calls.

Thanks for your interest in Jackbox Games!