About the role
Locations
- Los Angeles - Chatsworth, California, United States of America
- Vancouver - Great Northern Way, British Columbia, Canada
Work Model
- Hybrid
Studio/Department
- EA Studios - Respawn
Role Overview
Respawn Entertainment is the developer behind Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Star Wars Jedi titles. As a Gameplay & Data Science Engineer, you will drive the Research & Development of advanced bot behaviors and AI frameworks to enhance the Apex Legends experience. You will work at the intersection of data science and gameplay programming, utilizing machine learning and reinforcement learning to create intelligent agents. This role reports to the Technical Director.
Responsibilities
- Lead R&D efforts for game bots using machine learning, reinforcement learning, and neural networks to create realistic agent behaviors.
- Design, implement, and maintain gameplay-focused AI frameworks, including Utility AI systems, directly within the game engine.
- Collaborate with gameplay teams and designers to translate creative vision into technical specifications and scalable AI solutions.
- Develop and program algorithms to structure and analyze gameplay data to improve bot performance and decision-making.
- Optimize AI systems and data pipelines to ensure high performance and stability across consoles and dedicated servers.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in data science, machine learning engineering, or gameplay programming within the games industry.
- Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python for both engine-level implementation and algorithmic development.
- Hands-on experience with reinforcement learning, supervised/unsupervised learning, and AI architectures like Utility AI.
- Experience with large-scale computing frameworks, big-data techniques, and building scalable data pipelines.
- Solid foundation in mathematics, statistics, and optimization theory applied to game AI and machine learning.
- Bachelor's or advanced degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
Compensation and Benefits
Pay Ranges
- British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria): $141,400 - $204,400 CAD
- California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco): $165,000 - $256,000 USD
Benefits - United States
- Paid time off: 3 weeks per year to start
- Sick time: 80 hours per year
- Paid company holidays: 16 days per year
- Parental leave: 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby
- Insurance: Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability
- Retirement: 401(k)
- Additional: Certain roles may be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.
Benefits - Canada
- Vacation: 3 weeks per year to start
- Sick time: 10 days per year
- Parental leave: Paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary (12 weeks for maternity, 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave)
- Insurance: Extended health, dental, vision, life, and disability
- Retirement: Retirement plan
- Additional: Certain roles may be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.
Additional Information
- EA adopts a holistic approach to benefits, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness.
- Programs may include mental well-being support, family leaves, and complimentary games.
- Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
- Workplace accommodations are provided for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by law.