Rare is a one-of-a-kind game studio where we create the kind of games the world doesn't have, games that are uniquely Rare! Working here offers opportunities unlike anywhere else. You'll be providing players with unforgettable shared experiences in games loved by millions worldwide. Our pirate adventure Sea of Thieves, launched in 2018, is still going strong – and alongside that we're busy creating our next magical world, Everwild, announced in 2019 to a global audience.

We strive to make Rare an amazing place to work, embracing a culture of respect and building a supportive environment for our developers. Our custom-built Twycross studio is situated in the beautiful English countryside, surrounded by woodland and wildlife, with plenty of room for us to grow. Studio benefits are catered to making life easier for staff, including flexible working, a bonus scheme, an industry-leading pension package, private healthcare, mental health initiatives and free events for employees and their families.

By joining Rare, you'll be joining one of the finest studios in the industry with support from the wider Xbox Game Studios network. We're always on the lookout for exceptional people who can bring their expertise and unique thinking to help make our team even stronger!

Our game teams are responsible for generating the concepts and designs for our titles and bringing these ideas and experiences to life for our players. As a Senior Gameplay Programmer on one of our game teams, you’ll work with other programmers, designers, artists, testers and production staff to create game features.

In this multi-disciplinary environment, everyone has a part to play in providing inspiration and creativity and no one truly performs just a single role. It doesn’t matter where an idea originates, whether from an intern or a senior member of the team, it’s just as worthy of consideration and inclusion in our games.

Gameplay programmers can expect to work on many aspects of a game. Game teams work in smaller groups targeting a specific milestone experience. Within these sub-groups, Senior Gameplay Programmers help to define these milestones, and can expect to work on all aspects of the end-to-end user experience, such as system design, networked gameplay, artificial intelligence or user interfaces, so the flexibility and a desire to give something a try are key.

We’re big believers in high quality engineering here at Rare and aim for fast iteration with robust methods. This means that we embrace modern development practices such as continuous delivery, automated testing, code reviews, pair programming and agile methods.

We encourage everyone to explore and grow their own skills, whether through engineering discussions, volunteering to host one of our in-house workshops, or signing up to be part of our Engineering Process group to help steer how we build games in the future.

Responsibilities

In conjunction with other engineers, designers, artists and testers; originate, implement and iterate on software features for inclusion in our games.
Identify and surface risks in the areas that are being worked on.
Solve problems through the application of sound engineering practice.
Continuously work to minimize technical debt and maintenance hazards.
Devote time to personal improvement to further your own game development and programming knowledge.
Champion quality in our development process, demonstrating our values and taking an active role in improvement of engineering at Rare.
Be part of Rare’s culture; Be inquisitive, try things out, break stuff, help people be even better, and think like you own the place.

Qualifications

Bring at least one area of deep technical expertise to our team. You’ll know an awful lot about game (or plain old software) development in general, but this expertise is ‘Your Thing’. Graphics, audio programming, artificial intelligence, network synch, web services, engine development, build systems and suchlike. That's not an exhaustive list, by the way, just some examples. Tell us about yours.
Show us that you have a solid grounding in Computer Science theory and C++ development, and have a genuine enthusiasm for the subject. You’ll have demonstrable experience of its practical application, but not necessarily from inside the Games Industry.
Bring raw enthusiasm for at least one area of technical expertise. Games are big and complex, but there will probably be one or two topics that you think are particularly Tell us what you like.
Be enthusiastic about modern development techniques and be demonstrably keen to apply them to games. Test automation is a key element of our approach so experience with automation, or a willingness to learn, is essential.
Show us that you have a good foundation in C++ software design, programming and debugging.
Experience working with Unreal Engine 4 is preferred, but not essential.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.