Certain Affinity

About the Company

Certain Affinity (CA) was founded in 2006 with a goal of creating innovative, top-quality action games. It brings together an exceptionally experienced, unusually talented group to form one of the largest independent video game developers in North America. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a second, award-winning studio in Toronto, Canada. Certain Affinity is credited in over 40 titles across more than 17 world-class franchises, with 200+ full-time employees including veterans from dozens of successful game studios.

Listed Jobs

Company Name

Certain Affinity

Job Title

Advanced AI Gameplay Programmer

Job Description

Job Title: Advanced AI Gameplay Programmer Role Summary: Senior engineer responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing AI systems that drive character behavior, navigation, and environmental interaction in a high-fidelity game. Works cross‑functionally with designers, artists, animators, and physics teams to deliver performant, scalable gameplay experiences. Expectations: - Lead the development of AI architecture and decision‑making frameworks. - Translate creative concepts into robust, maintainable code. - Mentor peers through code reviews and documentation. - Deliver high‑performance systems within CPU and memory constraints. Key Responsibilities: - Design and maintain AI frameworks (decision trees, state machines, sensory systems, spatial reasoning). - Integrate AI with animation pipelines (root motion, procedural animation, IK). - Build and improve tools that reduce content creation friction. - Diagnose and resolve cross‑cutting issues spanning AI, animation, physics, and gameplay logic. - Perform performance profiling, memory management, and debugging of large‑scale systems. - Create and maintain technical documentation for AI modules. Required Skills: - 6+ years of software engineering in the games industry. - Proven expertise in core AI architectures and navigation systems. - Deep understanding of AI‑animation interaction and physics‑based movement. - Advanced C++ proficiency, focus on performance, memory safety, and debugging. - Strong knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and modern engine patterns. - Excellent communication and ability to explain technical constraints to non‑technical stakeholders. - Self‑starter with ownership of large systems and systematic debugging approach. Required Education & Certifications: - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Game Development, or a related technical field. - No mandatory certifications required.

Toronto, Canada

On site

27-01-2026