Senior Gameplay Engineer

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

Other Engineering
burbank, ca, usa
USD 141,900-190,300 / year + Equity
Posted on Dec 21, 2025

Job Posting Title:

Senior Gameplay Engineer

Req ID:

10138380

Job Description:

This is not a remote role. You must be in the local area or be willing to relocate.

About the Role

The Office of Technology Enablement (OTE), a division of The Walt Disney Company, is embarking on a mission to build the future of XR experiences across all Disney segments.

Working with top-class industry talent, this role is perfect for the accomplished game engineer looking to create something magical – from focused R&D projects to working with different business units on new ways to experience the characters and stories you love.

OTE is looking for a uniquely talented Senior Gameplay Engineer to join us on this ambitious and exciting initiative. If you are an experienced game programmer with a love of Disney properties, you’ll want to check out this opportunity!

This role will report to the Director of Development.

What you Will Do:

  • Leverage your knowledge to help implement a collection of interactive experiences based on Disney’s robust portfolio of characters and worlds.

  • Be an active, hands-on participant in the process, directly writing code and working daily with design/production/art to establish and achieve goals for each interactive experience.

  • A significant portion of this work will involve implementation using Unreal. This role will require a willingness and ability to operate within the limitations of that ecosystem and grow with it as the functionality matures.

  • Empower designers by serving as their main support avenue during the development process.

  • Find creative ways to overcome hardware limitations, maintaining a positive outlook along the way.

  • Work closely with other members of the engineering and creative teams to ensure that implementation quality is maintained. Be an advocate of stability and flexibility.

  • Champion Disney and team values. Maintain a ‘guest-first’ mentality by being an advocate for the audience experience.

  • Serve as a key team member of a growing XR development team at Disney.

Required Qualifications & Skills

  • 5 years of experience developing console/PC/mobile games or other digital interactive entertainment.

  • Experience with Unreal Engine 4/5+ at the native (C++) level.

  • Participated in the creation and release of a commercial product, in a hands-on programming role. Was one of the main authors of a major gameplay system.

  • Served as a programmer during the prototype phase of a project. Understands the difference in requirements/goals between prototyping and production.

  • Understands and implements the following concepts at a production-quality:

  • C++ code (Performance Impact, Memory Management, Inheritance, etc.)

  • Client/Server architecture (Replication, Client-side Prediction, Movement Syncing, etc.)

  • Game Mathematics (Linear Algebra, Vector Math, Kinematic Physics, Collision, etc.)

  • Ability to guide engineers.

  • A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Shipped products for Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest or other VR Platforms.

  • Graphics Programming, Mobile experience, and familiarity with Online Services are all bonuses.

  • Experience with developing and publishing Unreal content.

  • Has a broad understanding of XR experiences and the various devices that are available on the market

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Burbank, CA is $141,900.00-$190,300.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

Job Posting Segment:

TWDSTECH

Job Posting Primary Business:

Technology Enablement

Primary Job Posting Category:

Games-Engineering

Employment Type:

Full time

Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code:

Burbank, CA, USA

Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:

Date Posted:

2025-12-20