Unreal Engine Programming Apprenticeship

Job Description

About the Program

Epic Games Apprenticeships are designed to develop, support, and cultivate talent from alternative educational backgrounds and expand access to opportunities in interactive entertainment and 3D engine technology.

As an apprentice, you will be immersed in a year-long dynamic learning and working experience, paired with a strong network of mentors and embedded in a real-world development environment. You will be exposed to daily business at Epic, where you'll work on challenging projects focused on building real-world skills and competencies to ready you for the workforce.

To ensure we can choose from among the broadest base of highly qualified talent, we encourage people from across the spectrum of communities and identities to apply for this position.

Career Path Overview

Programmers are the technical minds who power our games and 3D experiences. Whether it's world-building for players in Fortnite, high octane excitement in Rocket League, redefining reality in Unreal Engine, or escalating bizarre chaos in Fall Guys, our programming path has something for every game engine enthusiast. In this pathway at Epic, you will make impactful contributions to both internal and external tools, features and products that will be seen and used by hundreds of thousands of creators, developers, and engineers alike.

What you'll learn and work on
Our teams create tools for content creators of Unreal Engine, Fortnite, Rocket League, and other games and applications from UI to Cinematics.

Apprentices joining this team will end up in one of three paths: Build Engineer or Procedural Tools Programmer or UI Programmer
• Build Engineers help maintain, monitor, extend, and provide front-line support for projects utilizing the build farm at the company.
• Procedural Tools Programmers build efficient & scalable tools to give technical and non-technical artists the tools to create large worlds and complex systems.
• UI Programmers work closely with Artists and Designers to deliver clear and meaningful interactions for Fortnite players so they can focus on the fun.

The Required Application Materials
• Resume detailing your software/game development experience [what did you build?, What language did you build it in?]
• A portfolio/Website/Links showcasing your software development or UI development work.
• Cover letter or statement of interest indicating why you want to participate in the apprenticeship, personal career goals, learning experiences, and what you hope to get out of the program. Applications without the above will not be considered.

The Apprenticeship Journey
• Step 1 - Apply! Applications will be accepted for this opportunity until February 14th, 2023.
• Step 2 - Selected candidates will speak with a recruiting team member who will learn more about you and prepare you for the interview process.
• Step 3 - Virtual interview with the hiring team week of 2/27. Successful candidates will move to the offer stage.
• Step 4 - Pre-apprenticeship training. You will participate in a 18-week focused bootcamp to prepare for your first day at Epic.
• Step 5 - Begin your paid work experience at Epic!

Specific Tasks May Include

(Build Engineer)
• Assist in maintaining the Epic Build Farm, monitoring performance, making improvements to the farm, fielding requests to add new jobs, fix, tweak jobs
• Assist with UE Engine Release tasks & processes owned by the team
• Maintain various build services owned by the team
• Assist with Perforce branch creation - when requested

(Tools)
• Design, implement and maintain procedural content generation code in UE.
• Partner with UE5 team members to create and implement new engine extensions and features.
• Improve existing features in the engine editor.
• Investigate and fix bugs to improve the overall editor experience.

(UI)
• Help ensure Fortnite's front-end experiences are maintained and updated with new features
• Work on deep-level systems and UI feature development both inside and outside of core gameplay
• Dive into things like Social Features, Challenges, Battle Pass, Lobby, and Store
• Collaborate with UX designers to ensure UI features are next level
• Be accountable for features after shipping, including general bug fixes and iteration

Who We're Looking For
• Candidates age 18+ from non-traditional tech backgrounds, including but not limited to: coding bootcamp grads, candidates looking to re-enter the tech workforce, self-taught coders, or candidates without a Computer Science degree
• You have some prior exposure to the concepts of programming, including a minimum of 6 months experience engineering/developing software with an object oriented programming language.
• You are a proactive, fast learner who naturally leans into owning outcomes from start to finish.
• Able to collaborate across disciplines ranging from technical to non technical.
• You respond well to constructive feedback, a collaborative mindset, and you are flexible and responsive to change
• You have strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills

Apprenticeship applications will be accepted until February 14th, 2023, Interviews begin on February 27th, 2023, with a start date of March 27th 2023 if hired. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the posting location for the duration of the apprenticeship. Employment sponsorship is not available for this position. For more information about Epic Early Career opportunities, visit epicgames.com/earlycareers.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-r78989-18-219-86-155-42 in your application.