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The University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (USC ICT) is actively looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join an interdisciplinary team working to develop a ground breaking virtual and augmented reality simulation platform.

* Role may involve work subject to export controls. US Person preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, develops and maintain software solutions and frameworks, and support the determination of operational feasibility (e.g., evaluating analyses, defining problems, developing solutions).
• Implement software solutions, prioritizing information needs and collaborating with a broad range of customers, partners, and key stakeholders.
• Ensure designs are translated into highly composable code.
• Determine operational feasibility (e.g., evaluating analysis, establishing problem definitions, proposing solutions).
• Work with researchers and developers to design, develop, test, and document new systems within the platform
• Work with designers, artists, researchers, and other programmers to develop, expand and refine simulation platforms
• Create examples, tutorials, and documentation in support of researchers and developers
• Work closely with other programmers and artists to solve design, pipeline and/or programming issues

Preferred skills and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience with a strong background in development in C/C++ and C# and understanding the specific performance considerations and practices for each language.
• 5+ years’ experience in software/game development
• Expertise with Unity and Unreal Engine
• Hands-on experience with large-scale computational simulation and real-time physics.
• Experience with measuring and optimizing computational, storage, and network performance of real-time physics simulations.
• Deep understanding of data structures, algorithms, and both computational and storage complexity analysis.
• Experience implementing networked gameplay and dealing with bandwidth and latency issues.
• A strong understanding of online games, including low-level networking, back-end, and internet connection issues and solutions.
• Prior development work on distributed systems and client/server architectures.
• Knowledge of network and server security issues.
• Extensive knowledge, experience, and understanding of Unity’s/Unreal’s systems related to multiplayer networking.
• Experience with Photon, Mirror or other comparable networking frameworks.
• Experience developing Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality solutions for Oculus, Vive, and/or MS Hololens.
• Experience with building native plugins for Unity/Unreal
• Experience building, deploying, and supporting Unity/Unreal applications as a live service.
• Experience profiling and debugging Unity/Unreal applications for performance optimizations.
• Effective and clear written and verbal communication skills, in support of working with experts in other disciplines such as game design, art, and subject matter experts.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills for translating described requirements into code.
• Comfortable with source control solutions such as SVN or Git.
• Ability to prioritize a variety of tasks in a manner that enables timely completion.
• Strong knowledge of programming/scripting languages and debugging techniques (e.g., MS Visual Studio, Python)
• Expert in software development lifecycle best practices (e.g., versioning w/ Git or SVN, unit testing, documentation generation)
• Desire to collaborate in a research environment

Why work at USC ICT

• Work on exciting and innovative projects that have real-world impact
• Small project team environment allows for involvement across entire project lifecycle
• A quality work-life balance
• Work with interesting people from all walks of life: technologists, social scientists, military experts, creative writers, etc.
• Opportunities for free, top-tier university education for you and your children
• Located in the heart of Playa Vista on the West Side of Los Angeles.
• Be part of both the research and development of tomorrow
• Flexible schedule
• Great benefits, including medical, continued education, and matched retirement, see http://benefits.usc.edu

About USC ICT

The University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies (USC ICT) is where academia, entertainment, and the military meet. Located in the heart of Silicon Beach in Playa Vista, no other institute offers a more diverse collaborative environment where basic and applied research work hand-in-hand to transition cutting-edge technologies.

We are world leaders in virtual human research, computer graphics, computer training simulations, learning sciences, body computing, and immersive experiences for decision-making, cultural awareness, leadership and health. ICT employees are encouraged to develop themselves both professionally and personally, through workshops, invited guest talks, movie nights, social events, various sports teams, a private gym and a personal trainer. The atmosphere at ICT is relaxed, informal and flexible, while encouraging initiative, personal responsibility, and a high work ethic.

The annual base salary range for this position is $134,202 - $152,000. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

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About University of Southern California (USC)

USC is the leading private research university in Los Angeles—a global center for arts, technology and international business. With more than 47,500 students, we are located primarily in Los Angeles but also in various US and global satellite locations. As the largest private employer in Los Angeles, responsible for $8 billion annually in economic activity in the region, we offer the opportunity to work in a dynamic and diverse environment, in careers that span a broad spectrum of talents and skills across a variety of academic and professional schools and administrative units. As a USC employee and member of the Trojan Family—the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who make USC a great place to work—you will enjoy excellent benefits, including a variety of well-being programs designed to help individuals achieve work-life balance.

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