Engineering Lead

About the role

Second Unit is looking for an experienced Engineering Lead for client game projects. This is a hands-on role where you’ll lead engineers while also writing code. We’re seeking someone comfortable making technical decisions, mentoring engineers, reviewing code, troubleshooting builds or Perforce problems, and implementing features when needed. If you’re a senior engineer who enjoys leading people but doesn’t want to spend all day in meetings, this may be a good fit.

Responsibilities

• Lead small, cross-discipline project teams of approximately 6-15 developers, making day-to-day technical decisions, reviewing code, estimating and planning work, assigning tasks, and identifying risks.
• Contribute directly to projects by writing gameplay code, building systems or tools, working in proprietary engines, reviewing implementations, or troubleshooting build issues.
• Mentor both senior and junior engineers and help onboard new team members, setting the standard for teamwork, communication, and problem-solving.
• Participate in client discovery and planning meetings before a project starts, evaluating scope, identifying technical risks, estimating engineering work, and determining team needs.
• Engage in client conversations, discussing technical tradeoffs, explaining team workflows, and collaborating with client engineers and studio leadership.

Requirements

• Personally contributed to the development and launch of at least one AA or AAA game.
• Experience supporting a released game and delivering live or post-launch content.
• Strong hands-on game engineering experience and the ability to write production-quality code.
• Experience leading and mentoring other engineers, both junior and senior.
• Ability to diagnose difficult technical and production problems.
• Solid understanding of game-development pipelines, source control, build systems, and development workflows.
• Ability to estimate engineering work, identify risks, and communicate technical issues clearly.
• Judgment and communication skills to work directly with client engineers, discipline leads, and studio leadership.

Professional experience with Unreal Engine, Unity, Perforce, Git, PC/console development, proprietary engines, or cross-platform development is useful but not required. We prioritize understanding how games are built and shipped over specific technology expertise.

What We Want to See From You

When applying, help us understand your contributions beyond job titles. Include:

• Which games you’ve shipped, your responsibilities, and your personal contributions.
• Details about post-launch work, such as features, DLC, or live content you helped deliver.
• Examples of leadership, such as leading a team, owning a difficult technical problem, or guiding other engineers.

What This Role Isn’t

This isn’t an Engineering Director or CTO role. You won’t manage engineers without touching the game or handle company-wide technology strategy, security, or corporate IT. Your focus is on leading and executing engineering work for client projects.

How We Work

• Remote-first U.S. studio with W-2 hourly employment, including paid overtime when applicable.
• Work may include periods between client assignments without available hours.
• Eligible employees receive monthly healthcare and hardware stipends while assigned to client work.
• You’ll use your own development workstation (meeting Second Unit’s hardware and security requirements) and a dedicated project environment configured by the company.
• Clients may require additional security measures or virtual development environments.

About Second Unit

Second Unit works with established game studios to support successful games while their internal teams move on to new projects. Our U.S.-based teams integrate directly into clients’ development pipelines, delivering DLC, live content, gameplay features, systems, and other player-facing work. Our leads are experienced developers who remain actively involved in making the game.