Principal Engineer - Game Innovation

Job description

What are we building? Hard Rock Digital is a team focused on becoming the best online sportsbook, casino, and social gaming company in the world. Backed by a brand known the world over for gaming, entertainment, and hospitality, we operate like a fast-moving startup with a passion for building products millions of people play. Our Games Studio is building the next generation of in-house casino content, and we are changing how that content gets made. We are building an AI-assisted development pipeline to design, build, and ship real-money games faster, and using it to go after formats the floor is not saturated with: Crash, Plinko, Mines, arcade-style games, skill-adjacent experiences, and formats that have not been invented yet. Two things at once: a new method for making all our games, and new kinds of games to make with it. What's the position? We are looking for a Principal Engineer, Game Innovation to be the technical lead for this effort. You will design and stand up the AI-assisted game development pipeline, own the architecture that takes a game from concept to a certified title live on our RGS, and build games on it yourself. You will pair with the Senior Producer, Game Innovation, who owns the product and the roadmap, while you own the technology and the build. This is a hands-on principal role, not a management track. You will write code, make the architectural calls, and set the engineering standard for how AI-built games get produced and shipped in a regulated environment. The first question, can AI build a game, is already answered by working prototypes. The harder question is whether we can build a real framework that produces games we would put in front of real players for real money. That is your problem to solve. Key Responsibilities Own the pipeline. Design and build the AI-assisted game development pipeline: a shared project with version control and CI/CD, agents that produce math, art, sound, and animation from a structured brief, automated evaluation gates, and a playable build the team can open from a link. Make it repeatable, so the second game is faster than the first. Own the architecture, front end to back end. Set the architecture for the game client and the back-end game server, including the round lifecycle, bet validation, outcome mapping against a certified RNG, wallet operations, reconciliation, RTP reporting, and the audit trail. Keep the math and the money server side. Integrate with our RGS. Lead the integration to Fingenuity, our RGS and RNG, and own the path that turns a candidate build into a certifiable, shippable title across jurisdictions. Build games, not just infrastructure. Stay hands-on. Prototype mechanics, build game clients and servers, and prove the pipeline by shipping real titles through it. Set the AI engineering standard. Define how we use AI-assisted tools and agents in game development: the conventions, the guardrails, the human review gates, and the automated checks that verify AI output before it advances. Nothing AI-generated ships uninspected. Choose the stack. Make the build, buy, and partner calls on engine, tooling, and infrastructure, and standardize the studio on choices that are strong for AI-assisted development and support the client and server model. Partner across the business. Work with platform engineering, compliance, and our RGS and third-party partners. Bring the studio's math, art, and production talent along, and keep the bar high on quality and speed. Raise the bar around you. Mentor engineers who join this effort, establish the code review culture, and document the patterns so the pipeline outlives any one person. What are we looking for? We are looking for a builder at principal level who wants to invent the way games get made, not maintain someone else's system. Someone who has shipped real-money games, understands what certification actually demands, and is genuinely excited about what AI does to the economics of game production. Strong opinions, hands on the keyboard. The ideal candidate will have: 10+ years in software engineering, with significant time building games. Director-level or principal-level scope as an individual contributor, comfortable operating without a team reporting to them. Shipped real-money casino games. Direct experience with game clients and game servers, math and paytable implementation, RNG integration, and the certification process (GLI, BMM, or equivalent) in regulated US or European markets. Deep game development experience across the stack: a modern engine or framework for the client (for example Phaser, Godot, Unity, Cocos, or PixiJS) and server-side services that hold game logic and outcomes. Hands-on, demonstrated expertise using AI-assisted development tools and agents as a core part of building software, not casual familiarity. A track record of defining conventions, guardrails, and workflows that a team adopts, ideally applied to game development itself. Real enthusiasm for AI in game production, with a point of view on what it does well, where it fails, and how to verify its output. Bonus points if you have built a game with it on your own time. Experience standing up development infrastructure: version control strategy, CI/CD, containerized environments, artifact management, observability, and reproducible builds. Understanding of RGS and RNG integration, wallet operations, and the reporting and audit requirements that come with real-money play. A track record of shipping. Multiple titles or platform releases you personally drove to live. Comfort in a regulated industry: able to work inside compliance requirements while still pushing on what is possible, and able to minimize the architectural cost of jurisdiction-specific rules. Strong written and verbal communication. You can write the technical spec, argue the architecture with peers, and explain a build decision to a non-technical stakeholder. Low ego, high ownership. You unblock yourself, you pair well with product, and you would rather ship and learn than debate in the abstract. What's in it for you? We offer our employees more than just competitive compensation. Our team benefits include: Competitive pay and benefits Flexible vacation allowance Flexible work from home or office hours Startup culture backed by a secure, global brand Real room to invent. This role is built to create a new way of making games, not to maintain an existing one. Opportunity to build products enjoyed by millions as part of a passionate team Roster of Uniques We care deeply about every interaction our customers have with us, and trust and empower our staff to own and drive their experience. Our vision for our business and customers is built on a diverse and inclusive work environment where regardless of background or beliefs you feel able to be authentic and bring all your talent into play. We want to celebrate you being you. We are an equal opportunities employer.