Mid-Level Research Engineer

Who We Are

Second Dinner is an award-winning independent game development studio that is here to make the most fun games in the world. Not super fun games. Not SUPER DUPER fun games. We mean the MOST fun games. In fact, our game MARVEL SNAP has earned multiple Mobile Game of the Year Awards (Game Awards, DICE), Best Strategy Game (IGN), and the Apple Design Award for Innovation!

Second Dinner is a remote-first studio, so while we are headquartered in Irvine, California, most of our team is fully remote across the United States. We want the most talented teammates wherever they call home. A diverse team with varied perspectives makes us a better company and will help us make better games. If you can bring something new to the table and expand our point of view, that's a huge upside. 

Our AI Team

At Second Dinner, we believe that with great people and a great environment, we can create great games and player experiences. On the AI team, we’re focused on researching, developing, and deploying cutting edge AI technology to transform not only the way that we make games, but what’s even imaginable. This space is constantly changing, so we’re always keeping a lookout on what’s new and working with other teams to find the best applications across the company. We rapidly prototype and iterate on new ideas with the ultimate goal of redefining what’s possible in game development.

Your Role:

As a Mid I or Mid II Research Engineer, you will report to the Associate Director of AI. Your work will be focused on identifying, researching, and building applications for large language models (LLMs) with teams across Second Dinner. You will partner with Engineering, Data, Design, and other disciplines to build powerful AI powered features, tools, and infrastructure to transform the way that games are developed.

Keeping up with advancements in the LLM field is key to this role, as we will be constantly ideating, prototyping, re-evaluating, and developing our portfolio of LLM applications within the studio. We’re looking for someone with a strong foundation in deep learning, and especially someone with experience working with LLMs in applied research settings.

What You’ll Do:

• Ideate on novel applications of LLM research to the game development space.

• Conduct applied research on relevant techniques and technologies.

• Work with the AI team to pitch, design, prototype, and build out applications that leverage LLMs across the company.

• Work across teams to integrate and customize LLM powered tools into workflows, prototypes, and existing games.

• Keep up to date on emerging technology and advancements in the field of LLMs.

• Level up the ML and AI literacy of the company.

• Contribute to the vision and strategy for LLMs at Second Dinner.

What You’ll Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related fields.

• Experience modifying, fine tuning, and adapting deep learning models.

• Experience with training, augmenting, and integrating LLMs (RAG, fine tuning, prompting, chain-of-thought, etc).

• Experience in end-to-end research and development for applied ML systems.

• Strong fundamental understanding of deep learning techniques, especially ones relevant to LLMs.

• Software development experience with one or more of Python (preferred), C++, C#.

• Demonstrated success in highly collaborative cross-functional environments.

Nice to Have, but Not Necessary:

• Experience with AWS/GCP/Azure, LLM training and serving platforms.

• Research and/or publications around LLMs.

• Experience with automation, pipelining, and orchestration of complex systems.

• Expertise in designing and building highly available data-intensive distributed systems.

• Experience in game development

• Experience with Git or other version control systems

The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $110,000 - $175,000 USD + equity + comprehensive benefits + potential for discretionary performance bonuses.

Individual pay within this salary range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs. The disclosed range is not adjusted based on location and may be subject to change or modification based on business needs in the future. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process.

An overview of the benefits and perks at Second Dinner:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans with Second Dinner paying 100% of premiums for employees and 75% for dependents for many plans

• 401(k) contribution with no waiting period

• 16 weeks paid parental leave with no waiting period

• Home office improvement bonus

• Paid Vacation & Sick time

• Up to 10 BetterHelp sessions covered each benefits plan year

• Remote-first with core overlap hours between 10AM and 4PM PT

• Company Winter Holiday shutdown (Dec 25-Jan 1)

• Company Summer Holiday shutdown (week of July 4)

• Company Events - In-person Summer all-hands gathering, in-person holiday party, annual camping event, and virtual events throughout the year

We are an equal opportunity employer that places high value on diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, disability status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military status, or veteran status.

 You must be eligible to work in the United States to be considered for this position.