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Climax Studios

UK-based video game development studio

Principal Rendering Engineer - Mpg

Full-Time
No salary listed
Expert
Remote in UK
RemoteRemote within the United Kingdom or the European Union, with core hours supporting both regions.
Software EngineeringGame Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • An established track record in rendering or engine engineering, shipping high-performance rendering systems for AAA, film/VFX, XR, or simulation across a number of products.
  • Deep experience with modern C++ and solid shader authoring and debugging using HLSL, MSL, or GLSL.
  • Production experience shipping with at least two of Metal, DirectX 12, Vulkan, or GNM/GNMX.
  • Deep working knowledge of rasterization, compute, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
  • Fluency in modern rendering techniques including physically based rendering, global illumination, ambient occlusion, volumetrics, and post-processing such as anti-aliasing, high dynamic range, tone mapping, and motion blur, with awareness of GPU-driven pipelines, meshlet rendering, and real-time path tracing workflows.
  • Ability to work in unfamiliar codebases and make sound architectural decisions independently.
  • Applied 3D mathematics and the ability to produce clear technical writing.
Responsibilities
  • Turn the art team's vision into shippable, scalable rendering technology.
  • Design, build, and maintain high-performance rendering backends with clean abstractions across PC, console, and Mac.
  • Profile and resolve deep GPU/CPU bottlenecks involving occupancy, tile memory pressure, indirect dispatch overhead, and bandwidth.
  • Modernize pipelines with GPU-driven culling, indirect command buffers, and bindless architectures.
  • Design concurrent GPU memory management using modern API features and memory heaps.
  • Extend major engines, including Unreal source, and custom C++ architectures.
  • Represent the studio externally through white papers or presentations at industry events.
Desired Qualifications
  • Practical experience with mesh shading pipelines in DirectX 12, Vulkan, or Metal to optimize geometry processing and reduce CPU overhead.
  • Familiarity with modern hardware variations, including console and Apple Silicon unified memory architectures.
  • Experience shipping ray tracing or heavily compute-driven rendering.
  • Extensive Unreal Engine source modifications.

About the company

Climax Studios is a British video game developer that creates, designs, and refines video games for multiple platforms. The studio covers the full development process from concept through code, art, testing, and polish to release. It has a history of adapting to changing industry trends and delivering immersive gaming experiences, with credits including Silent Hill: Origins and Sudeki. Since April 2021, Climax Studios has operated as a subsidiary of Keywords Studios, gaining access to broader technical and creative resources and a wider global network. This partnership helps Climax Studios continue delivering high-quality games to players around the world and supports Keywords Studios’ goal of providing comprehensive services to the video game industry.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Founded

1988

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Days Gone Remastered remained live on Climax's site in July 2026, proving active delivery.
  • Climax still posted five engineering roles in August 2026, indicating ongoing product work.
  • Headcount reached 298 in March 2026, up 12.2% from 2023, supporting scale.

What critics are saying

  • Keywords Studios cut 128 San Francisco jobs in June 2026, showing parent-level cost pressure.
  • Climax hiring cooled to 38 openings in 2026, down 41.7% from 2025.
  • If remaster and co-development work weakens, Climax becomes a replaceable service studio.

What makes Climax Studios unique

  • 1988-founded Climax Studios built console and remaster expertise on AAA projects like Days Gone Remastered.
  • Keywords Studios acquired Climax in April 2021 for up to £43 million, expanding development depth.
  • February 2026 HQ move to Lakeside North Harbour signals a single-site operating model.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Remote Work Options

Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Paid Vacation

Parental Leave

Wellness Program

Mental Health Support

Professional Development Budget