Principal Software Engineer (Engine)

Description & Requirements
Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. Part of a community that connects across the globe. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.
Description & Requirements
Electronic Arts creates next-level entertainment experiences that inspire players and fans around the world. Here, everyone is part of the story. Part of a community that connects across the globe. A place where creativity thrives, new perspectives are invited, and ideas matter. A team where everyone makes play happen.
At EA, we believe games are powerful because they bring together multiple ways people engage: play, watch, create, and connect. And increasingly, the biggest entertainment platforms aren't just places to consume content — they're places where communities build.
Creator-made content is already a proven part of EA's history — from community creation tools in Battlefield to The Gallery in The Sims 4. We believe new creative technologies and tools will expand how players engage with and contribute to our experiences, supported by thoughtful product design, safety systems, and global reach. Our focus is on enabling more players to participate in creative expression by making creation easier, safer, and more rewarding.
We are seeking a
Principal Software Engineer
to join our Research & Engineering team. You have the agency to deploy your technical firepower wherever it creates maximum leverage for our core engine systems and technology stack. You will look across engine subsystems rather than being bound to a single domain. Whether partnering with domain specialists to refine low-level engine subsystems, unblocking gameplay feel and simulation fidelity, or diving deep into engine systems to resolve systemic performance bottlenecks, you take pride in identifying critical choke points and solving them directly in code.
This is a hybrid role, onsite three days a week, in Montreal, Vancouver, or Redwood Shores, California.
You will report to the Sr. Director of Engineering.
Responsibilities
High-Leverage Problem Solving: Proactively identify systemic bottlenecks, risks, and stability challenges across core engine and toolchain teams, deploying your expertise where it creates the highest impact.
Full-Stack Execution: Move fluidly across disciplines—gameplay, game AI, runtime simulation, threading, memory, and pipelines to build proof-of-concepts and resolve complex engine challenges.
Production Readiness: Bridge foundational technology and game production, translating complex technical designs into robust, performant, and maintainable core engine systems.
Core Systems Craft: Build scalable runtime frameworks, memory systems, threading models, and core hardware abstractions operating within strict per-frame budget constraints.
Engineering Mentorship: Elevate engineers through hands‑on pairing, design reviews, and sharing modern best practices.
Qualifications
20+ years of professional software engineering experience in PC/console AAA game development or comparable real‑time systems, with experience developing within or extending major AAA engines (e.G., Frostbite, Unreal Engine 5, Unity, Godot, proprietary).
Multiple Shipped AAA Titles: Proven track record of shipping major titles across full production lifecycles.
C++ Mastery: Deep fluency in modern C++, low‑level hardware, multithreading, memory management, cache optimization, and debugging.
Multidisciplinary Breadth: Fullstack hands‑on experience across core game engine domains such as Rendering, Physics, Gameplay Simulation, and Streaming/I/O.
Performance & Optimization Expertise: Proven experience profiling and optimizing large-scale C++ game engine architectures for console/PC hardware, with deep knowledge of SIMD, cache locality, and latency reduction.
Agentic AI & Developer Tooling: Experience integrating or leveraging agentic AI systems, automated code generation, and modern AI‑assisted development workflows to enhance engineering productivity and engine tooling.
Collaborative Leadership: Exceptional communication skills;
adept at building alignment across research, engineering, and design partners.
We are a diverse, goal-driven team that offers real influence and autonomy to every member. Our ideal candidate is curious, open‑minded, and thrilled by exploring fresh concepts and tailoring them for game development. If you are a passionate, creative, and communicative individual who is deeply invested in innovating across new domains of gaming, we want you on our team.
Pay Transparency – North America
Compensation And Benefits
The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.G. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).
PAY RANGES
British Columbia (depending on location e.G. Vancouver vs. Victoria) *$204,600 - $287,500 CAD
California (depending on location e.G. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco) *$227,300 - $344,700 USD
Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA.
In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full‑time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.
For Canada, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top‑up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full‑time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and other incentive programs.
About Electronic Arts
We’re proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.
We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life. Our packages are tailored to meet local needs and may include healthcare coverage, mental well‑being support, retirement savings, paid time off, family leaves, complimentary games, and more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All 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. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
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