Senior Research Engineer

Job Description

PROGRAMMING - SPECIAL PROJECTS
What We Do
The Special Projects team at Epic is responsible for executing high-impact projects that push the envelope to define the future of real-time graphics and gaming technology (The Matrix Awakens, Lumen in the Land of Nanite). In collaboration with the Unreal Engine team, we strive to put our technology and knowledge into the hands of users, empowering developers and content creators with the most powerful suite of real-time tools in the world.
What You'll Do
Epic's R&D team is developing tools to bring AI-powered conversational technology to games. You will programmer the tools and fine-tune the LLMs to enable more immersive experiences for players and new creative possibilities for developers.
In this role, you will
• Own the data pipeline: source/synthesize scalable conversational datasets, and enforce data quality, privacy, and provenance
• Train and align at scale: build distributed SFT/DPO/RLHF workflows, automate evals, and iterate quickly
• Enable the creation of new real-time experiences: integrate LLMs with tool use, memory/RAG, and TTS/ASR; meet strict latency and cost budgets for live gameplay
• Collaborate with the moderation teams: work with Epic's moderation teams to continue refining safeguards and policy checks
• Partner widely: collaborate with gameplay programmers, designers, and artists to prototype and ship real-time experiences in games
What we're looking for
• B.S. in CS/ML/EE/Math or equivalent; advanced degree a plus
• 5+ years building production ML or distributed systems (flexible for exceptional impact)
• Expert Python (async I/O, data programming); strong systems skills
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf)
• Comfort reading papers and turning ideas into robust code
• Experience with reinforcement learning, safety alignment, or RAG techniques
• LLM-related open-source contributions or published research
This role is open to multiple locations across North America and Europe (including CA & WA).

Pay Transparency Information
The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position are detailed below. Each base pay range is relevant only for individuals who are residents of or will be expected to work within the specified locale. Compensation varies based on a variety of factors, which include (but aren't limited to) things such as skills and competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. In addition to base pay, most employees are eligible to participate in Epic's generous benefit plans and discretionary incentive programs (subject to the terms of those plans or programs).
California Base Pay Range
$209,399 — $307,119 USD
Washington Base Pay Range
$190,363 — $279,199 USD

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-xk1byo-216-73-216-181-42 in your application.