Senior Unreal Engine Graphics / Render Engineer

At Side, we work alongside some of the world's leading game developers to solve complex technical challenges and bring exceptional player experiences to life. As our projects continue to grow in scale and technical ambition, we're looking for a Senior Engine & Graphics Engineer on a contract basis with deep expertise in Unreal Engine 5, rendering systems, and performance optimisation.

This is a highly senior, hands-on engineering role suited to someone who enjoys getting close to the hardware, diagnosing difficult performance problems, and building elegant technical solutions. You'll work across engine, rendering, and graphics systems, helping teams maximise visual fidelity while ensuring games run efficiently across target platforms.

We're looking for an engineer who thrives on autonomy, takes ownership of complex challenges, and proactively drives improvements without needing constant direction. You'll be trusted to identify issues, propose solutions, and work closely with project leadership, clients, and development teams to deliver meaningful technical impact across multiple projects.

• →Lead the development and optimisation of core engine, rendering, and graphics systems within Unreal Engine 5, helping teams achieve high levels of visual quality and performance.
• →Profile, analyse, and resolve complex CPU, GPU, memory, and platform-specific performance challenges across active development projects.
• →Partner closely with gameplay engineers, technical artists, and content teams to identify bottlenecks and implement scalable technical solutions.
• →Own performance and optimisation strategy, establishing best practices and providing technical direction across multiple projects.
• →Contribute hands-on to engine-level development, rendering pipelines, graphics features, and low-level systems programming.
• →Serve as a senior technical advisor to internal teams and clients, communicating risks, trade-offs, and recommendations clearly.
• →Proactively identify technical challenges before they become production issues and drive solutions with minimal oversight.
• →Mentor engineers and champion engineering excellence through code reviews, knowledge sharing, and technical leadership.

• Significant professional experience as a Senior, Lead, or Principal, with deep expertise in game engine and graphics programming.
• Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine 5, including engine architecture, rendering systems, performance profiling, and optimisation techniques.
• Strong understanding of graphics programming fundamentals, GPU performance, rendering pipelines, shaders, and modern graphics APIs.
• Experience optimising games or real-time applications across PC, console, or other hardware platforms, with a solid understanding of hardware-level performance constraints.
• Excellent C++ programming skills and experience working with low-level engine systems.
• Proven ability to work autonomously, take ownership of complex technical challenges, and proactively deliver solutions while keeping stakeholders informed.
• Strong communication skills and experience collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams, clients, and technical leadership.
• Passion for solving difficult engineering problems and improving performance, scalability, and overall technical quality.