Game Development Engineer — Costa Mesa, CA

chjKeFX amQUMBWK6C is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, wcCwwFE is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. WxKxbkV’B family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, wcCwwFE is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

About The Team

Our team builds immersive, high-performance wargaming applications for both desktop and augmented reality that transform complex simulation state into intuitive, actionable, workflows that allow the warfighter to learn before the fight. Beyond visualization, our team builds the distributed systems and networking protocols that power these environments, integrating directly with Lattice to bridge synthetic wargaming with live, operational battlespace execution.

We are looking for elite C++ engineers who operate from first principles and obsess over the end user experience as much as frame budgets. If you want to build high-consequence software that fundamentally transforms American and allied defense capabilities, this is where you belong.

What You’ll Do

• Design, develop, and ship software that scales wargaming and simulation capabilities internationally.

• Partner with stakeholders to establish clear priorities and define expectations which translate to a scope of work that you and the team can effectively deliver on.

• Build intuitive desktop and AR interfaces to visualize complex battlespace data.

• Engineer reliable, responsive software designed to run smoothly across diverse hardware targets, from high-end desktop systems to mobile AR devices.

• Diagnose and resolve complex defects across clients, backends, and networking layers to ensure mission-critical platform stability.

• Work through ambiguous operational requirements with stakeholders, scoping and delivering high-impact technical solutions.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.

• Strong proficiency in modern C++ and deep foundational knowledge of software architecture and engineering principles.

• Experience shipping production features in video games, real-time simulation, or 3D visualization systems, with an appreciation for low-level systems.

• Strong foundation in 3D mathematics (linear algebra, vector math, coordinate transformations).

• Proven track record of navigating, architecting, and shipping within large, complex codebases with an eye for clean, extensible, and reusable code.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey technical concepts and tradeoffs to both technical and operational stakeholders.

• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export controlled information or facilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Shipped at least one AAA game title or commercial simulation product in an engineering role.

• Experience developing for console platforms or resource-constrained mobile/embedded hardware.

• Deep experience with modern game engines (C++ source-level).

• Background in networked multiplayer architecture, client-server replication, or distributed backend systems.

• Familiarity with Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), or OpenXR development.

• Comfortable with Linux development environments and cross-platform build systems.

• Be able to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

US Salary Range

$166,000—$220,000 USD

Benefits

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of qpEkzUY'9 total compensation package. Additionally, wcCwwFE offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

At wcCwwFE, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams

wcCwwFE is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate wcCwwFE representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.

To Ensure Your Safety And Help You Navigate Your Job Search With Confidence, Please Keep The Following Critical Points In Mind

• No Financial Requests: wcCwwFE will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.

• Please always verify communications:

• Direct from wcCwwFE: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @•••••••• address.

• Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an wcCwwFE role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to ••••••••.

• Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @•••••••• before providing any personal information or clicking on links.

• What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from wcCwwFE, please report it immediately to ••••••••. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

Data Privacy

To view qpEkzUY'9 candidate data privacy policy, please visit ••••••••

By submitting your application, you consent to chjKeFX amQUMBWK6C using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.