Systems Programmer

Job Description

Overview

Come join Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning development team behind Starfield, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Bethesda Game Studios strives to offer its employees a well-balanced home and work life by providing competitive salaries, a generous benefits program, and offices located in some of North America’s best cities.

With a goal of creating a culture as fun and diverse as our games and our players, we welcome applicants with unique skillsets, experience levels and backgrounds. If you are passionate about making a meaningful contribution to some of the most significant games in the industry, we’d love to hear from you!

We will consider candidates for any of our four Bethesda Game Studios office locations: Rockville, MD; Montreal, Quebec; Austin, TX; Dallas, TX.

Responsibilities

Your Daily Life at Bethesda Game Studios

• Write clear, maintainable, highly functional code and portable C++ code
• Thrive to understand the engine architecture, engine API and foundational systems
• Contribute to the multi-disciplinary development of cutting-edge technologies (including architecture, design, prototype, implementation, tests, debugging, documentation, profiling, maintenance and support)
• Contribute and document clear, maintainable, stable, scalable and highly functional systems targeting multiple platforms, memory and performance constrained environments, data modeling for complex open world simulation, streaming and persistence, middleware integration, and C++
• Profile and direct CPU optimization efforts for any engine system and game frame in a highly multithreaded environment.
• Write tech plans, accurately estimate your schedules and help production with related roadmaps and planning
• Work well with other developers (from multiple tech disciplines, artists and designers), including understanding feature requests, cross features dependencies and communicating constraints and risks
• Review code, provide tech guidance and coach team members working directly or indirectly on tech impacting graphics systems
• Continuously learn about new technologies and assess how they could benefit the current technology stack
• Jump into lots of different systems, tackling everything from entire systems to random tasks
• Support and maintain existing systems

Qualifications

What Makes You S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

• You have at least 4 years of game industry C++ development programming experience with at least 3+ years of engine experience
• You’ve obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering or equivalent experience
• High agency and a goal driven approach to solving problems
• You are an expert in C++
• You are an expert at working on large scale and complex engine multithreaded systems
• You are an expert with writing systems that balance performance and maintainability
• You are an expert at CPU profiling and optimizing
• You enjoy jumping into lots of different systems, tackling everything from entire systems to random tasks
• You possess excellent analytical and mathematical skills
• You have strong interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability
• You possess the ability to contribute innovative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development
• You can work well under pressure and handle multiple tasks and are able to switch contexts
• You have a passion for making GREAT games
• You have a strong familiarity with Bethesda Game Studios games
• Must be a self-motivated and energetic team player with a very strong work ethic and cooperative attitude
• Strong interpersonal skills and problem-solving ability

Preferred Skills

Bonus Skills

• You have experience with animation, 3D graphics, audio, AI, or gameplay programming tools
• You have development experience on game consoles (Xbox One/Series/PS4/PS5)
• You have familiarity with Bethesda Game Studios’ CreationKit

Salary Range

Systems Programmer - The typical base pay range for this position at the start of employment is expected to be between $80,000 - $175,000 per year.

ZeniMax has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. The range above reflects the potential base pay across the U.S. for this role; the applicable base pay range will depend on what ultimately is determined to be the candidate’s primary work location. Individual base pay depends on various factors, in addition to primary work location, such as complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Base pay ranges are reviewed and typically updated each year. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time.

At ZeniMax certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, such as merit increases and discretionary bonuses. These awards are allocated based on individual performance and are not guaranteed. Benefits/perks listed here may vary depending on the nature of employment with ZeniMax and the country work location. U.S.-based employees have access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, wellbeing benefits, paid vacation time, paid sick and mental health time, and several paid holidays, among others.

This position is in a union and represented by the Communication Workers of America.

We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do – from recruiting for our studios, publishing and operations to fostering safe and respectful workplaces that encourage collaboration. Our culture is based on principles of respect, inclusion, and fair treatment and we welcome anyone into our family without regard to race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age.

Our diversity fuels our innovation and inspires us to create game worlds that bring us closer to the global community of players we serve.

You will receive an automated email confirming we have received your resume.

Due to the high volume of applications received, it's not possible for us to respond directly to each candidate.

Don't see your desired position listed? Apply under "General Application" instead!

If you are selected, you will be contacted by our team for an initial phone screen to chat about your previous experience.

You may go through one or two phone interviews, and possibly a follow-up Skype call.

If your qualifications do not match the criteria of a current position, your resume will be kept on file.

Site Visit

The next step will be an invitation to come out and meet the team at the studio for onsite interviews.

In the event that we choose not to move forward at any point in the recruiting process, we will let you know.

Your Privacy

ZeniMax understands the importance of privacy. Please review the Applicant Privacy Notice attached to each position, which explains how we process the personal information we collect about you when you apply for a job or submit information to us through our job portal. BY APPLYING FOR THIS OR ANY POSITION, SHARING THIS JOB, OR OTHERWISE PROVIDING US WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION THROUGH THIS JOB PORTAL, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE APPLICANT PRIVACY NOTICE, WHICH IS SET FORTH IN THE “APPLICANT PRIVACY NOTICE” SECTION BELOW EACH POSITION.