Unreal Engine Game Developer

Unreal Engine Programmer

Location: Remote (Canada preferred)

Commitment: 20 hours per week, Contract / Part-Time to Full-Time Transition

Compensation: Revenue Share (transitioning to paid salary upon funding)

Game: Grimrail – A Cosmic Psychological Horror — Now live on Steam

About Us

Infinite Loop Studios (ILS) is an independent game development studio dedicated to crafting deeply atmospheric, narrative-driven experiences. Our debut title, Grimrail, is a cosmic psychological horror set aboard a purgatorial train suspended between collapsing realities.

Players confront passengers whose fates twist through cycles of judgment and redemption, armed only with a radio that can bend reality itself.

We're a small, ambitious team of developers, artists, and storytellers working remotely across Canada. With Grimrail already live on and our first public playtest approaching, we're expanding our programming team to refine systems, polish gameplay, and deliver a truly immersive horror experience.

About the Role

We're seeking an Unreal Engine Programmer to help develop and refine the systems that bring Grimrail's world to life. You'll work on everything from gameplay mechanics and interaction logic to performance optimization and core systems architecture.

In the immediate term, your focus will include:

• The in-game notebook, used for tracking quests and narrative progression.

• UI interactions and interface refinement.

• Debugging and improving the Room Flip environmental puzzle mechanic, which allows players to rotate entire rooms around them to solve spatial puzzles.

It's essential that these systems integrate smoothly with Grimrail's atmosphere, supporting both narrative immersion and mechanical clarity.

As the project progresses, you'll contribute to the game's core frameworks, including AI behavior, quest management, environmental scripting, and optimization for demo release.

This position is ideal for a generalist programmer who enjoys creative autonomy, problem-solving, and building gameplay systems that heighten emotion, tension, and storytelling in a psychological horror setting.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and implement gameplay and interaction systems using Unreal Engine 5 (Blueprints and C++).

• Develop and refine the in-game notebook, UI systems, and Room Flip puzzle mechanic.

• Collaborate with the art, design, and audio teams to deliver cohesive, atmospheric player experiences.

• Optimize gameplay systems for performance and stability across PC builds.

• Troubleshoot, profile, and refine code through iterative playtest cycles.

• Maintain modular, clean, and well-documented code for scalability.

• Contribute ideas that strengthen pacing, player tension, and mechanical payoff.

Work Structure: We operate remotely with flexible scheduling. Team members are expected to complete their weekly hours and attend at least one of our two standing team meetings:

• Mondays at 7:30 AM PST / 10:30 AM EST

• Fridays at 3:30 PM PST / 6:30 PM EST

Qualifications

• Proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 with at least 2 years of experience (Blueprints required; C++ preferred).

• Experience building gameplay or system-level features, ideally involving puzzles or interactive mechanics.

• Strong grasp of debugging, optimization, and version control (GitHub).

• Familiarity with event-driven audio (FMOD), animation blueprints, or AI behavior trees is an asset.

• Widget and UI experience (bonus for animation and effects work).

• Understanding of level sequencer, shader design, or general tech art workflows.

• Experience implementing quest systems or AI logic.

• Prior shipped project experience is a strong advantage.

• Passion for horror, tension, and psychological storytelling — with an eye for UX clarity and player immersion.

Compensation

This is a revenue-share contractor position during the pre-funding phase of Grimrail.

Here's how compensation works:

• Initial Phase: Team members receive revenue share based on role scope and contribution. This ensures that all contributors share directly in the project's financial success once revenue or external funding milestones are achieved.

• Transition Phase: Upon securing publisher or grant funding (targeted for Q4 2025 or Q1 2026), this position transitions into a paid contract or salaried role, with continued revenue participation for early contributors.

• Funding Path: The studio is preparing a polished demo and ongoing Steam build to secure publisher partnerships and apply for government programs including the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and SR&ED.

This structure ensures that early team members share directly in Grimrail's long-term success, gaining both recognition and participation as the project moves into funded development.

All contributors who remain through the shipped demo milestone will be credited in both the demo and full release. An NDA is required upon acceptance of the role.

Why Join Infinite Loop Studios

• Help shape a fully realized cosmic psychological horror world with strong narrative and visual direction.

• Contribute directly to Grimrail's live Steam build and upcoming public playtest — key steps toward full release and funding.

• Collaborate with a passionate, remote-first team of developers, artists, and sound designers.

• Gain hands-on experience with advanced Unreal Engine 5 systems and cinematic storytelling.

• Work within a flexible, creative, and autonomy-driven production culture.

Interested?

If this sounds like the kind of project you'd love to help build, we'd love to see your work. Please send us your portfolio, sample projects, or playable builds that showcase your technical and creative strengths to:

Thank you for your interest in Grimrail and Infinite Loop Studios — we look forward to connecting with you.

Learn More

• Website:
• Steam:

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: Up to $80,000.00 per year

Expected hours: No less than 20 per week

Experience:

• DevOps: 1 year (preferred)

Work Location: Remote