‘Epic employees eat, sleep and breathe games’

Epic Games is not just ‘another games development company’ – the US studio also created one of the most popular suite of dev tools, Unreal Engine.

“We’re really proud of the massive growth we’ve seen with Unreal Engine 4,” senior recruiter Emily Gabrian enthuses. “We recently announced that more than two million developers are using it to build their projects across game, visualisation and more.”

This number should continue to increase as the 25-year-old company keeps on growing every year. Epic currently has over 50 job openings worldwide, and has just launched its new MOBA Paragon into open beta.

“That’s just the beginning; there’s a ton going on that gets us excited about the future,” Gabrian adds.

“In addition to continued Unreal Engine 4 support, we have teams working on Paragon, Fortnite, Spyjinx, and Unreal Tournament. We also are growing our publishing organisation, having just opened a European office in Berlin earlier this year.”

In addition to this new German office, Epic also has three studios in the US (including its North Carolina HQ) and a presence in China, Japan and South Korea, plus two studios in the UK’s Guildford and Sunderland. All of these locations represent around 600 people.

“We’re a pretty humble crew, but we are also pretty epic,” Gabrian laughs. “Epic employees eat, sleep, and breathe games and technology. They are some of the brightest people in their fields building everything from our online infrastructure, to ambitious original IP and the powerful toolset that is the Unreal Engine.” 

FROM ARTISTS TO ENGINEERS

Between its games and engine, Epic has a very diverse range of job opportunities.

“There are a ton of new teams and projects these days,” Gabrian says. “From a recruiting perspective, we still actively focus on C++ programmers and more traditional art and design positions associated with game development. We are also building new teams though, adding expertise in areas like statistical data analysis, web services, marketing and developer support.

“It’s pretty exciting to be growing our breadth of expertise to include things like user experience research and licensee support across not only games, but areas like film, architectural visualisation and VR.“

But there’s one specific job role that Epic is particularly looking for right now.

“All types of engineers, all the time,” Gabrian reveals. “Anyone who touches large, scalable and highly available systems, or works in object-oriented programming.

“We are also really focused on UI and UX right now. There is a definite appetite for continuously improving user experiences across all games, platforms, sites, and tools.”

Epic is looking for devs who want to make an impact not only on the studio, but also on “the future of technology”.

“Epic oozes this sort of calculated fearlessness,” Gabrian explains. “The vibe here is very kinetic – always moving, growing, improving. That ambition is something that each individual brings to work with them everyday.” 

PASSION ON SHOW

To become a part of this ‘vibe’, Epic’s senior recruiter has one simple tip.

“The best thing you can do to get an interview is to show us what you make. That could be tools, games, art, websites – whatever it is you develop. We love to see passion and problem-solving, and what defines your best work.”

Gabrian adds that devs should keep their CV simple when applying.

“A résumé or CV should be easy to read, and not too crowded,” she advises. “Don’t worry about the ‘one page rule’ if it sacrifices formatting. As for a successful interview, just be yourself and be prepared. Go into the conversation knowing your strengths, and be ready to talk about them.”

If you make it, you’ll have access to various perks. The best one, if you work at Epic’s HQ, is definitely being able to take a slide to go from the second floor to the community meeting area. But if you’re looking for more serious advantages: “The health care and benefits are awesome,” Gabrian says.

“Epic has actively honed its focus on employee happiness, improving things like health benefits for employees and their families,” she continues. 

“In my opinion, the best perk is being able to have a voice in the company. The part where we play games regularly is also awesome.”