Senior Game Systems Architect

Read this if you want your name attached to a real indie game

We're a funded indie game studio working on our flagship online multiplayer game -- a noir spy game we're rebuilding from 2D into 3D. We just shipped our first playtest, players love it, and we're heading toward festivals: Steam Next Fest, IndieCade, Brazil Games, and others on the indie circuit.

We are scrappy. We are funded. We have full runway for this project. We have a marketing budget. We have 3D artists on the team. We have a gameplay programmer. We have a tech lead. We're looking for the right person to take ownership of the systems architecture lane.

Your name attached to this game. On a Steam page. At festivals. In dev logs. That is the upside we're selling.

What you'll own

This is an ownership role. We give you the game system concept. You take it from concept to full implementation to testing. You own it. From the design we hand you, to the architecture you choose, to the server-side handling, to the tests that prove it works.

• Game systems architecture -- you design the technical implementation of gameplay systems we hand you
• Server-side multiplayer work -- our flagship work is online multiplayer; you need to think in terms of authoritative servers, sync, and reconciliation
• C# inside Unity, with discipline around clean architecture and reusable patterns
• Mirror networking (or comparable framework with willingness to learn Mirror)
• Version control hygiene -- you're comfortable with Git, conflict resolution, branch strategy
• Code review and conversation with the team -- you raise concerns when you see them

Who we're looking for

• Someone who treats game system design as a craft, not a checklist
• Someone who can take a game design concept from a designer and implement it end-to-end without needing the design pre-translated into pseudocode
• Someone who debugs with breakpoints and profilers, not trial and error
• Someone who uses AI tools pragmatically but verifies the output
• Someone who can communicate technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders in plain language
• Someone scrappy. Someone hungry. Someone who wants their name on a real game

Who we are NOT looking for

• Frontend or UI specialists -- this is not that role
• Pure gameplay scripters with no systems or networking experience
• People who've only worked on single-player or peer-to-peer games
• People who debug by trial and error
• People who treat merge conflicts as emergencies

The honest pitch

We are a brand new studio. We have momentum. We have a real game. We have real players who've already given us real feedback. We have funding and runway. We are aiming for festival showings and a real Steam launch.

This is not a job at a big studio with a comfortable salary. This is a $400 - $600 USD/month contractor role at a scrappy indie studio that is going somewhere. Your work will be visible. Your name will be attached. Your craft will be on display.

If you want that, apply. If you want corporate comfort, don't.

Logistics

• Compensation: $400 - $600 USD/month, full-time contractor through our staffing agency
• Time zone: LATAM, Eastern Europe, Asia, or anywhere with working-hours overlap with UTC-6 to UTC-3
• Start: ASAP. Ideally overlapping with our current systems lead through mid-June for handoff
• Engagement: Long-term contractor. We invest in our people.

How to apply

Apply through this listing. We screen for technical depth, communication style, and culture fit -- in that order. We move fast and we respect your time.