Own the technical decisions and establish how this game gets built.Who We AreOina Studio is an independent Canadian game studio developing premium story-driven games for PC and console. We believe modern engines now let small teams deliver production value that once required hundreds of people.We focus on single-player experiences: strong stories, characters worth caring about, and worlds that come alive the closer you look. Our first game is a narrative adventure of growth and companionship, drawn from Kazakh mythology. We build solid pipelines and keep the creativity and agility of a small team.The RoleWe are looking for a game developer to own technical decisions and establish strong development patterns for the studio.Your first deliverable is the technical half of a vertical slice that publishers will judge at the end of your first 90 days. It will become the foundation of the full game we are building.You will be the first technical hire and the architect of how this game gets built. This is a hands-on engineering role first — you'll write code for the majority of your time — and a leadership role second, as you help grow and shape the dev team through Prototyping and into production.The work is narrative-driven: character systems, world traversal, atmospheric interactivity. You'll own the technical foundation of the game and collaborate directly with the founder on product decisions. As the studio grows, you'll lead the engineering team.What You'll OwnEngineering (primary)Architect and implement core gameplay systems in UE5Build and own narrative systems: branching dialogue, quest flow, character state, progressionEstablish the project's technical architecture from a greenfield state — pipelines, conventions, source control structureIntegrate content pipelines between art and engineering: character, environment, VFX,



audioOptimize for target platforms (PC primary, console for future audience expansion)Write documentation for systems and onboarding future engineersTechnical leadershipOwn the technical roadmap and scope estimates for each milestoneOwn code review and quality standards — every line that enters the codebase meets your barEvaluate and select third-party tools, plugins, and middlewareCoordinate with Lead Artist on engine-side art pipeline and tool requirementsFlag technical risks early and propose solutions; be the person who knowswhat's actually hardWho You AreIndependent and self-directed — comfortable being the sole developer at the start, able to scope and prioritize without hand-holdingA strong written communicator with an async-first mindsetMotivated by narrative games — dialogue, character, and story systems are the core work here, not an afterthoughtReady to own technical decisions and stand behind them across a multi-year buildWhat We Are Looking ForRequired4–5 years minimum experience in games engineering, including 2+ years at senior or lead level on a shipped commercial titleDeep UE5 proficiency at the code levelExperience building narrative or RPG systems (dialogue, quest graphs, character state)Experience taking a project from greenfield — architecture, pipelines, and conventions you set up yourself.



The studio inherits whatever foundations you lay; this is the capability the role exists forNice to haveShipped a game in the AA or narrative indie spaceUnity or other major engine experience (transferable skills)Experience with Perforce or Git LFS on a large game projectConsole porting experience welcome — we'll need it after the PC launchBilingual in English and FrenchWhat You'll GainCompensationCompetitive salary plus meaningful founding-team equity, with step-ups at funding milestones. We build the package around the right person and what they need to make this workEquity: 4-year vesting, 1-year cliffBenefits and cultureRemote-first; preference for candidates based in or willing to work Eastern Time (ET) hours3 weeks paid vacation minimum; studio closes between Christmas and New YearWhat this role gives you that bigger studios can'tFirst technical hire: you shape how the studio builds, rather than inheriting someone else's decisionsYour architecture is the studio's architecture — for this game and the ones after itYou own your domain, and the team commits to your decisionsWhat Success Looks LikeFirst 90 daysUE5 architecture and tooling decisions locked in your first two weeksSlice production foundations operational by day 30: source control, build pipeline, review flowVertical slice shipped by day 90, secure through every publisher demoPlaytest builds shipping on a reliable cadence from day 906 monthsSlice systems hardened into production-ready foundationsNext Fest demo build shipped and stableTechnical roadmap to first ship defined and defended in funding applicationsYear oneProduction schedule defended to publishersPerformance targets defined for PC and console platformsA new engineer can onboard from your docs and ship in their first weekOur ProcessIntro call with the founderTake-home assignmentFinal interviewOffer#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Lead Ue5 Developer → Own The Technical Decisions And Establish How This Game Gets Built. Remote-Firs (Winnipeg)
🏢 Oina Studio
📍 Winnipeg