Founding Senior Gameplay Engineer (AI & Systems Architecture …, Vancouver

Role: Founding Senior Gameplay Engineer (AI & Systems Architecture) – Stealth Startup Position Type: Part-Time / Casual / Freelance Contract (10–15 hours/week, fully remote) Compensation: Ground-Floor Equity (1.0%–2.0%) + Guaranteed Funding Success Fee ($15,000 - $25,000 CAD) Important Note: This is a pre-seed, equity-first founding role with a guaranteed cash success fee paid out immediately upon closing our initial seed round. Because there is no upfront salary prior to funding, this position is structured as a part-time, highly flexible freelance contract so you can easily maintain your existing employment, freelance client base, or severance timelines. Our Vision The AAA video game business model is hitting an existential wall. Development costs have soared 90% since 2017, portfolios are being whittled down by extreme risk-aversion, and massive layoffs have left thousands of senior creators looking for a better way to build. Meanwhile, monolithic platforms are attempting to pivot toward photorealism using cloud-intensive upscaling "filters" that compromise world consistency and introduce unsustainable edge-compute costs. We are an anonymous, pre-seed startup founded by an industry studio Finance/FP&A; veteran. We are building an AI-native creation platform designed to capture the adult demographic (Men 18–34) by "right-sizing" high-fidelity development. Instead of upscaling low-poly blocks, our platform utilizes AI to generate native, deterministic high-fidelity geometry locally on mid-spec PC hardware. We are seeking a founding technical artist to help us deliver a killer creation prototype for our upcoming seed funding round. The Mission You will architect the core systems and logic protocols of our platform's MVP. Working asynchronously on a flexible schedule, your primary objective is to prove that our platform can deliver frictionless social spontaneity alongside complex, no-code game logic. Core Responsibilities - Conversational Logic Engine: Architect a state-machine framework that interprets natural language inputs into functional, deterministic gameplay systems (e.g., translating a non-coder's prompt into an interactive quest, inventory, or behavior tree via tools like Inworld AI or LLM-to-JSON schemas). - The 10-Second High-Fidelity Deep Link: Develop a lightweight, headless server orchestration and asset-streaming pipeline that allows a player on a mid-spec PC to click a shared link and load into a gorgeous, high-fidelity setting in under 10 seconds—completely bypassing traditional storefront/installation barriers. - Modular Gameplay Foundation: Program a clean, reliable, and highly replicable multiplayer code base (e.g., an extract shooter or RP baseline) that early creators can instantly re-skin and adapt via AI natural language tools. Requirements - 5+ years of professional gameplay engineering or systems architecture experience using C++, C#, or GDScript (AAA environment preferred). - Strong mastery of multiplayer networking, server-client replication, and low-latency asset streaming. - Experience with or deep interest in building LLM-integrated development environments or generative logic modules. - Based in Canada (Vancouver/BC preferred for future collaboration, but open nationally). The Founding Milestone Agreement - Ground-Floor Equity: 1.0% to 2.0% equity stake vesting over a standard founder timeline. - Deferred Cash Success Fee: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD (based on experience) written into your contract, triggered and paid out immediately upon the successful close of our initial Seed Funding round. - Leadership Track: Founding contractors will hold the first right of refusal for full-time "Head of Department" roles once the company is capitalized. Pay: $100.00-$140.00 per hour Benefits - Profit sharing - Stock options - Work from home Work Location: Remote Apply on Kit Job: kitjob.ca/job/2pbyd7