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Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K’s newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K’s next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we are assembling a world-class team of visionaries, builders, and passionate gamers who thrive on creative collaboration, technical excellence, and bold ideas. At Small Axe Studios, we believe big things start with sharp focus—and we’re crafting an exceptional, player-first experience from the ground up. If you’re ready to tackle unique challenges, leave your mark on a brand-new IP, and help shape the future of interactive sports entertainment, we want you on our team!
What We Need
We’re looking for a Senior Online Services SE to help build the scalable multiplayer backbone of our next AAA sports title. In this role, you will own the full lifecycle of online features, primarily developing custom backend services and implementing the necessary game client logic, partnering with designers, artists, and producers to create seamless connected experiences. We value technical depth, a collaborative mindset, and adaptability as our team and technology evolve together.
What You Will Do
- Design and build scalable backend services to support online features
- Develop the client-side systems in C++ needed for the online features in Unreal Engine
- Implement comprehensive monitoring and alerting for your services
- Partner with design, art, and production to shape online features
- Write clean, performant, and well-tested code
- Mentor team members and contribute to engineering culture
- Conduct code reviews to uphold quality and consistency
- 5+ years of software engineering experience in game development
- Proficiency in C++, Go, and Python
- Strong understanding of distributed systems and networking protocols
- Experience building online or multiplayer game systems
- Experience working with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL)
- Experience with Kubernetes, AWS, or similar cloud platforms
- Experience with observability tools (e.g., OpenTelemetry, DataDog)
- Familiarity with CI/CD concepts to support zero-downtime deployments
- Familiarity with event-driven architecture
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills across disciplines
- Adaptable and comfortable navigating a growing organization
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
- Familiarity with Unreal Engine 5 or similar game engines
- Track record of shipping AAA multiplayer titles
- Passion for playing or watching sports
The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between $96,400 and $142,660 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.
Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.
Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.
