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Hardsuit Labs

Co-development and porting services for games

Programmer 4

Full-Time
CA$112k - CA$132k
Senior
Remote in Canada
RemoteMust reside in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, or British Columbia, and be legally authorized to work in Canada.
Software EngineeringGame Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 7 years of professional software development experience.
  • At least 3 years of professional Unreal Engine experience.
  • At least 3 years of development experience in a team environment.
  • At least 2 years of professional C++ experience, with an advanced understanding of C++.
  • Extensive experience working across multiple codebases.
  • Ability to discuss and review technical proposals, requirements, designs, algorithms, source code, and reference documents with programmers, content creators, and managers.
  • Ability to provide meaningful time estimates for large tasks.
  • Proficiency in writing optimized, thread-safe code and identifying areas for optimization.
  • Ability to navigate ambiguity and act accordingly.
  • Ability to pivot between different domains of responsibility.
  • Extensive experience using debugging tools to fix bugs in unfamiliar code.
  • Strict adherence to project coding standards.
  • Strong cross-discipline collaboration skills.
  • Willingness to receive and act on feedback.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Experience or comfort with client-facing communication and the ability to represent the studio professionally when interacting with external partners.
  • Expert knowledge of 3D mathematics.
  • Applicants must be legally authorized to work in Canada and reside in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, or British Columbia.
Responsibilities
  • Design, author, and maintain robust, highly optimized systems that meet design, technical, and schedule requirements.
  • Work with quality assurance and technical leadership to ensure system stability and accuracy by identifying, communicating, and resolving defects.
  • Author, review, and provide feedback on technical and end-user system documentation.
  • Collaborate with technical leadership and other programmers to help establish technical design and architecture.
  • Work with production staff to build and maintain realistic schedules and identify dependencies; coordinate with quality assurance and leads to ensure successful rollout of new features and establish system testing and maintenance.
  • Work with minimal guidance on high-impact tasks or independently on low-risk tasks.
  • Provide guidance and informal supervision to more junior staff.
  • Provide feedback and enforce coding standards through peer reviews.
  • Help team members set up tools and troubleshoot minor tool issues and workflow blockers.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with AAA games.
  • Experience with Unity or proprietary custom engines.
  • Experience developing on console.
  • Experience shipping multiple titles.
  • Experience working on a title from beginning to end.

About the company

Hardsuit Labs is a Seattle-based game development studio that provides co-development, engineering, porting, and optimization services to other game makers. It works by offering partnership-based outsourcing, delivering technical resources during pre-launch windows, networking, and performance improvements to help partners ship games on time. Compared with competitors, it focuses on flexible collaboration and support across a range of development needs rather than building its own titles. Now part of Keywords Studios, its goal is to provide reliable hands-on development support to help clients deliver high-quality games.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Seattle, Washington

Founded

2015

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Hardsuit is hiring technical artists and programmers in September 2026, showing active workloads.
  • Its 2026 careers page stresses long-term hiring, suggesting management expects continued project demand.
  • Keywords still markets Hardsuit for full development, co-development, and porting, broadening client access.

What critics are saying

  • Keywords cut 128 San Francisco jobs on 2026-06-22, signaling services demand volatility.
  • Hardsuit's client work depends on publisher contracts; losing one project can idle teams fast.
  • A Keywords downturn or studio consolidation could absorb Hardsuit entirely within 2027.

What makes Hardsuit Labs unique

  • Keywords Studios updated Hardsuit Labs page on 2026-02-25, highlighting Unreal Engine depth.
  • Seattle location and console-porting history differentiate Hardsuit among Keywords' Create studios.
  • Co-founders Andy Kipling and Russell Nelson still lead post-2023 acquisition, preserving continuity.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance

Company News

DSOGaming
Sep 24th, 2024
16 minutes of gameplay from Hardsuit Labs' canceled Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

For those unaware, Hardsuit Labs was working on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from 2019 to 2021.

Proactive Investors
May 11th, 2023
Keywords Studios PLC acquires Call of Duty studio Hardsuit Labs Inc

Keywords Studios PLC (AIM:KWS, OTC:KYYWF) has acquired Hardsuit Labs Inc, a US-based game development studio based in Seattle, for up to a maximum of US$15mln.

NewsnReleases
May 11th, 2023
Keywords Studios acquire Hardsuit Labs, a US-based game development studio for $15mn

Keywords Studios, the international technical and creative services provider to the global video games and entertainment industries, has acquired Hardsuit Labs, a US-based game development studio based in Seattle.