Physics Programmer, C++ (Modeling & Simulation)

Accountabilities

• • Architect and implement the core C++ runtime supporting a large-scale, interactive modeling and simulation platform.
  • Own the structure, performance, maintainability, and long-term evolution of a substantial engine codebase.
  • Design and evolve entity-component-system architecture, including component storage, entity lifecycle management, system queries, execution graphs, and dependency-aware scheduling.
  • Define engine interfaces for integrating physics, AI, sensor, weapon, behavior, and environmental models.
  • Build stable extension points that enable model developers to add capabilities without destabilizing the engine core.
  • Design simulation loops, time-stepping approaches, event processing, system ordering, state transitions, deterministic execution, and replay capabilities.
  • Develop multithreaded and task-based execution systems that safely parallelize simulation workloads.
  • Optimize memory layout, allocation, cache locality, component access, serialization, and data movement.
  • Profile and improve CPU utilization, memory consumption, latency, throughput, and simulation rate against defined performance budgets.
  • Build infrastructure for spatial indexing, collision candidates, visibility, proximity queries, and other large-scale spatial operations.
  • Integrate externally developed physics and mathematical models into a consistent, reliable, and performant runtime.
  • Develop checkpointing, snapshotting, state replication, save-and-restore, and reproducible replay functionality.
  • Establish architecture for networked and distributed simulation, including ownership, synchronization, prediction, and state transfer.
  • Build developer tooling that enables model developers to inspect entities, debug execution, profile model costs, and understand simulation state.
  • Identify and eliminate architectural bottlenecks as simulation scale and model complexity grow.
  • Lead engine design reviews, mentor other programmers, conduct code reviews, and raise engineering standards for C++ architecture and performance.
  • Remain deeply involved in implementation, profiling, debugging, and technical problem-solving.

  Requirements

  • Extensive professional C++ development experience, or equivalent experience building performance-critical production software.
  • Significant experience in commercial game development, game-engine development, or another performance-constrained real-time environment.
  • Experience shipping at least one commercial game, engine, platform, or interactive real-time product.
  • Demonstrated ownership of foundational engine systems rather than primarily gameplay features, scripting, tooling, or application-level integrations.
  • Experience building or substantially extending a physics engine, game engine, simulation runtime, entity-component system, job system, or comparable core technology.
  • Expert knowledge of modern C++, including object lifetimes, ownership, templates, concurrency, synchronization, profiling, and low-level debugging.
  • Strong understanding of data-oriented design, memory layout, cache behavior, allocation strategies, and performance-sensitive data structures.
  • Experience designing or extending an entity-component system or similar composition-based runtime architecture.
  • Experience with engine loops, execution graphs, task systems, event systems, dependency management, or runtime scheduling.
  • Demonstrated ability to optimize systems against strict CPU, memory, latency, frame-time, or tick-time budgets.
  • Experience using professional profiling and debugging tools to diagnose CPU stalls, memory issues, thread contention, allocation problems, and cache inefficiencies.
  • Working knowledge of real-time physics concepts such as coordinate systems, numerical integration, collision detection, spatial partitioning, constraints, and simulation stability.
  • Experience designing APIs, plugin systems, SDKs, or extension frameworks used by other programmers.
  • Experience maintaining and improving large C++ codebases while continuing to deliver production capabilities.
  • Experience leading major technical initiatives while remaining an active individual contributor.
  • Active Secret clearance or eligibility to obtain one.
  • For Senior-level positions, typically 5+ years of relevant experience; Staff-level positions generally require 7+ years, while Principal-level positions generally require 10+ years.
  • Senior candidates should be able to drive system-level design, collaborate on broader architecture, solve complex technical issues, and mentor teammates.
  • Staff candidates should be capable of owning cross-cutting architecture, leading complex technical initiatives, managing technical risk, and serving as a primary technical reviewer.
  • Principal candidates should demonstrate department-level architectural influence, strategic technical leadership, and the ability to shape long-term engineering direction.
  • Experience with SIMD, GPU compute, custom allocators, job systems, lock-free structures, or platform-specific optimization is strongly preferred.
  • Experience supporting very large worlds or simulations with significant numbers of active entities is a plus.
  • Familiarity with engine serialization, snapshotting, replay, world partitioning, or streaming is desirable.
  • Experience with aerospace, robotics, autonomy, or defense simulation standards and platforms is beneficial.
  • Experience developing models related to sensors, weapons, electronic warfare, communications, logistics, or command and control is advantageous.
  • Active U.S. security clearance, including Secret, Top Secret, or SCI/SAP, is strongly preferred.

  Benefits

  • Compensation designed to be highly competitive and positioned toward the upper end of the relevant salary range, based on experience, skills, proficiency, and location.
  • Health care coverage with 100% premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision plans.
  • 401(k) plan with a 5% employer match.
  • Uncapped vacation time, along with paid sick leave and public holidays.
  • Flexible hybrid or fully remote work arrangements.
  • Relocation assistance for qualifying employees.
  • Opportunity to work on technically challenging, high-performance simulation and C++ engineering problems.
  • Significant opportunities for technical ownership, architectural influence, mentorship, and career growth.