Principal Software Engineer, Engine

Team Name

World of Warcraft

Principal Software Engineer, Engine

R026573

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join the World of Warcraft Engine team and help shape the future of Azeroth. As a principal, you will be working with a team focused on the vision of improving World of Warcraft’s graphics and engine technology. Your expertise will be highly leveraged in guiding the what and how of the future of the engine.

Our team is highly collaborative, and you will work directly with artists, designers, producers, QA, and fellow software engineers as you help maintain key engine systems.

Blizzard Entertainment is a global company committed to growing our employees along with the business. We offer competitive benefits and strive for a healthy work / life balance. We foster a deeply collaborative and creative environment, a diverse and inclusive employee culture, and training and opportunity for professional growth.

We work within a hybrid work model. This role is expected to work in-office 3 days a week and work from home the other 2 days. The home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

• Design and implementation of new graphics and engine functionality.
• Maintain the rendering engine for performance, stability, and error‑free operation.
• Act as primary technical point within the engine domain on large scale projects, with the capacity to stretch past that domain when necessary.
• Work closely with the art department to help them achieve their artistic vision.
• Mentor and guide engineers at all levels.
• Participate in and contribute to a diverse and inclusive culture.

• An understanding of scene management and the rendering pipeline.
• Experience shipping game titles with significant contributions to the engine.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with experience working across all game development disciplines effectively.
• Strong mathematics skills, including proficiency with trigonometry and linear algebra.
• Strong fluency writing modern C++ while also understanding historical language patterns.

• Experience with code and data optimization.
• Experience with multi-threaded programming.
• Experience debugging across a variety of hardware configurations.
• Experience working within legacy codebases.

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well‑being for ‘Every World’ – we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, , rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $ – $ Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process.

In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.