Senior Gameplay Engineer at Echtra (San Francisco, CA)

Echtra· San Francisco, CA·3d ago

Role details

Employment

Full-Time

Job description

Senior Gameplay Engineer

Do you love building games? Do you enjoy making something engaging and magical happen on the screen? Have you built some excellent gameplay systems?

We're searching for a Senior Gameplay Engineer to help us maintain Torchlight 3 and craft the future of Echtra. We're a small game studio in San Francisco with a team of veteran game developers. At Echtra, we value diversity and support work-life balance. We have great benefits, an open vacation policy, and flexible schedules.

As a Senior Gameplay Engineer, you will understand the game design and make it a reality. Each day, you will collaborate with other engineers, designers, and artists to craft a great user experience. You will decide what’s needed and take the lead on building and polishing it.

Requirements:

You're comfortable working in C++ You've built multiple gameplay systems before and have shipped them to users You're at home working on a large game engine

Pluses:

Experience building RPG gameplay systems.Experience working with Unreal Engine 4 Experience shipping on a major console like XBox or PlayStation A love and passion for gaming

Why work at Echtra

Culture: Values individual ownership and creativity. Team members are trusted to take the lead on making the vision come true.
Work environment: On-site in San Francisco (SOMA district), with tools that support remote work and flexible scheduling. "Everyone takes the time they need for family and personal interests."
Compensation & culture: Glassdoor rating of 4.4/5.0 (3 reviews), with perfect 5.0 scores for Work-Life Balance and Compensation, and strong marks for Culture (4.2) and Career (4.4).
Team size: Extremely small (5-11 employees), offering high impact and ownership for each team member.
Notable: 100% of reviewers on Glassdoor would recommend the company to a friend.
Current openings (August 2026): Gameplay Engineer and Senior Gameplay Engineer — both on-site in San Francisco.

About Echtra

Company Overview

One-liner: Echtra Games is a San Francisco-based game studio founded by Diablo and Torchlight co-creator Max Schaefer, known for developing the Torchlight action-RPG series.
Entity Type: Private (Acquired by Zynga in 2021; Zynga is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive)
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Founded: 2016
Founders: Max Schaefer, Justin Miller

Core Business

Primary industry: Computer Games / Video Game Development
Target customers: B2C (PC and console gamers)
Mission or purpose statement: To build an insanely fun and exciting world to play in, focusing on action role-playing games (ARPGs) with long-term content and cross-platform support.

Products & Services

[Torchlight III]: A multiplayer action role-playing game, released for PC and consoles. Echtra developed and maintains this title.
[Unannounced AAA Cross-Platform ARPG]: As of mid-2022, the studio was beginning development on a AAA cross-platform ARPG (likely the project that was later cancelled or restructured).

Market Standing

Valuation/Market Cap: Not publicly disclosed (acquired by Zynga in 2021 for an undisclosed amount within Zynga's broader strategy)
Key Metric: Annual Revenue of approximately $9.1M (as of recent estimates, though this may reflect pre-closure operations)
Notable Investors/Partners: Parent company Zynga (acquired 2021), which itself is owned by Take-Two Interactive. Studio alumni come from Blizzard Entertainment, BioWare, Electronic Arts, and NCSOFT.
Growth Signals: The studio was closed by Zynga in June 2025, with the team reportedly failing to ship its planned original IP. As of August 2026, the company appears to be operating with about 5-11 employees, maintaining Torchlight III and listing 2 open positions (Gameplay Engineer and Senior Gameplay Engineer) on-site in San Francisco. This suggests a significant downsizing or restructuring rather than growth.

Competitive Advantages

Legendary pedigree: Founded by Max Schaefer, co-creator of Diablo and Torchlight — two of the most influential ARPG franchises.
Veteran team: Core team includes developers who worked on Diablo, Torchlight, and other major Blizzard/EA titles.
Unreal Engine expertise: Uses Unreal Engine for heavy lifting, allowing focus on unique gameplay and world-building.
Flexible remote-friendly culture: Tools support remote work and flexible scheduling.

Strategic Focus

Current priority: Maintaining Torchlight III and "crafting the future of Echtra" as a small, independent-feeling studio.
Historical direction: Originally aimed to be a cross-platform PC/console ARPG developer with long-term live-service content. The closure of the studio in 2025 by Zynga indicates a strategic pivot or downsizing. Current focus appears to be on sustaining the existing game and remaining operational as a small team.

Sources

Job description

Why work at Echtra

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