Software Engineer

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

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 $103,506 - $122,000. 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.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree Addtional Education Requirements Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 2 years Minimum Skills: Two years’ experience with programming and documentation procedures, methods and operator instructions. Experience conducting unit/performance tests, systems integration and user acceptance. Demonstrated experience with one or more relevant programming languages, able to gain needed contexts for domains. Comprehensive knowledge of architecture, design and development of software solutions. Excellent organization, planning, analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to provide technical expertise and creative solutions while aligned to organizational objectives and customer needs. Experience weighing economic costs and values objectively, supporting coworkers on a project basis, and contributing to discussions in a civil manner. Excellent written and oral communication skills, able to provide both detailed information as well as summaries to varied audiences. Substantial knowledge of security concepts, familiarity with secure code development techniques, and understanding of scalable and automated solutions. Ability to build strong, positive working relationships and rapport with diverse groups of team members. Preferred Education: Bachelor's degree Or Bachelor's degree Or Bachelor's degree Preferred Experience: 4 years Preferred Skills: Four years’ experience in IT/programming. Proficiency with Python, Javascript, C/C++, Java, Ruby and/or other advanced programming languages. Experience with Unix/Linux programming and/or administration. Experience in higher education.