Principal Generalist Programmer - Dead by Daylight

Principal Generalist Programmer – Dead by Daylight

Department and team: Publishing / Programming

Status: Permanent Full-Time

Location: Middlesbrough, EN, Montreal, QC, Toronto, ON

About Behaviour Interactive: Behaviour Interactive is the largest Canadian gaming studio, with more than 1,300 employees worldwide. Behaviour is best known for its flagship franchise, the multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight, which has entertained more than 60 million players across multiple platforms. The studio is currently expanding its portfolio of original IP with multiple projects. Behaviour has also established itself as one of the world’s leading providers of external development services. The company has partnered with many of the gaming industry’s leaders, including Microsoft, Sony, EA, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Take-Two, among many others. Over more than 30 years, Behaviour has developed an unparalleled, award-winning culture. The company was named one of the Best Places to Work in Canada by GamesIndustry.biz, and has been recognized with Deloitte Canada’s Enterprise Fast 15 and Best Managed Company awards. Headquartered in Montreal, Behaviour has expanded its global presence with studios in Toronto (Behaviour Toronto), Seattle (Midwinter Entertainment), the United Kingdom (Behaviour UK - North and Behaviour UK - South) and the Netherlands (Behaviour Rotterdam).

The role: We are looking for a principal programmer to join the Dead by Daylight systems team. Dead by Daylight (DbD) is a game as a service (GaaS), and the systems team is part of a larger production that includes other programming teams, game design, art, animation, and other disciplines. The systems team works on a wide variety of features that are very diverse in nature but having in common that they form the underlying systems upon which the game is based: game flow, the archives, performance, load times, multiple platforms, consoles, and others. Some features even require coding not only in the game code, but also in the backend code.

To help us achieve our long-term vision with DbD, we are looking for a Principal Generalist Programmer to integrate the team and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the game by being accountable for the delivery of major system features.

In this role you will:

• Deliver systems: You will code new systems and refactor existing systems, working on a wide variety of features ranging from tooling and backend to player-facing code and platform-specific implementations.
• Fix bugs: Dead by Daylight is a live game as a service where features are continually added or improved. This introduces bugs and other issues. The Principal Programmer is expected to tackle challenging and difficult-to-reproduce critical bugs.
• Fix performance and memory issues: As with any GaaS, performance and memory issues can arise. You will profile the game, identify bottlenecks, and optimize accordingly.
• Ensure features and bugs are delivered on all platforms: The game is supported on numerous platforms, from PC to current and past-generation consoles. You will guarantee the game functions flawlessly across all platforms.
• Collaborate with teams: Most system features involve cross-functional collaboration with game design, UI, backend programming, and art teams. Effective communication and teamwork are essential to deliver successful features.
• Mentor junior programmers: As a principal programmer, you will contribute to the growth of the team by sharing knowledge, skills, and best practices.

What we're looking for:

• Proven track record in game development with a minimum of 15 years of experience.
• You are a generalist who is comfortable working on a wide variety of things: low- and high-level code, features and bugs.
• Expert proficiency in C++.
• You need to be solution-oriented and possess a collaborative spirit.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 5 is a plus.
• Experience with backend development (NodeJS, TypeScript, AWS) is a plus.