Amiqus is working in partnership with Steel City Interactive as they look to attract an experienced Character Physics Programmer to the team.
SCI was born out of passion for video games and boxing, with the ambition to create an authentic and exciting boxing game that does justice to the sport we love. What started as a fun prototype has grown into ‘Undisputed’, the first major boxing video game in over a decade.
The Role
You are a highly experienced Character Physics Programmer, having worked on AAA titles within Unreal Engine, where you showcased your skills in perfecting physics-driven character animations and seamless integration with animation pipelines to deliver immersive, realistic gameplay experiences.
We're looking for a Senior Character Physics Programmer to help shape the future of our game. In at the start as we pivot to UE5 you'll be responsible for the development of new character physics features for our game, optimising and maintaining the physical simulation and animation integration of our product to AAA fidelity.
You will be working in collaboration with a highly talented, diverse team to create world-class character-based gameplay.
Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and maintain our character physics systems using UE's Chaos Physics engine, including rigid-body dynamics, high fidelity impact collisions, and ragdoll effects tailored to realistic human characters.
- Integrate physics with animation systems, utilizing animation montages, blend shapes and IK solvers.
- Optimize fixed-/sub-step physics frames for precise simulations, and procedural animations to achieve lifelike character responses (e.g. punches, dodges, and falls in a 60fps multiplayer boxing match context).
- Collaborate on animation pipelines, incorporating tools like Motion Matching for fluid animation blending, Control Rig for real-time rigging, MetaHuman for high-fidelity character models, and customizing ML Deformers for advanced muscle and skin deformations.
- Optimize general physics and animation performance through LODding and multi-threading or asynchronous strategies, debugging concurrency issues, and ensuring smooth integration & performance across consoles and PC.
- Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues related to physics-animation interactions, such as joint deformations, corrective expressions, and foot-sliding.
- Prototype new features for character interactions, like soft body impacts and multiplayer synchronization of character physics states.
- Contribute to code reviews, best practices, and documentation for the physics and animation teams.
- Stay current with Unreal Engine updates and emerging technologies in character simulation, and the Chaos Physics engine.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- Proven Experience in character physics programming
- Deep knowledge of key technologies used in character physics and animation for AAA games, such as C++ and Unreal Engine tools.
- Experience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5 physics and animation pipelines.
- An eye for realistic motion - the ability to discuss with animators and gameplay designers what works dynamically and how to make it fit within our game.
- Proven experience with engine-level debugging and performance optimisation.
- Strong understanding of character movement dynamics, 3D maths and data structures.
- Strong understanding of the underlying (UE) engine structures and techniques.
- Solid understanding of software architecture and engineering best practices.
- Excellent communication and documentation skills.
- Self-driven with a proactive mindset and attention to detail.
- A genuine passion for games and game development.
- Experience of Character AI Systems a bonus.
What they offer
Healthy work-life balance:
23 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), that increases 1 day per year of service.
Christmas shut down
Holiday exchange programme
Flexible working hours & pattern (Certain Hybrid models available)
If the above sounds like it could be the opportunity you’ve been looking for then get in touch. For a casual chat about the role in more detail call me on 01925 839 722 or drop me an email on lee.burns@amiqus.com I look forward to hearing from you.
