Principal Engineer - Content Lifecycle & Studio

About this role

Technology & IT

Principal Engineer - Content Lifecycle & Studio

Roblox

On-site · San Mateo, California Senior Full-time USD 295k–345k / yr Posted 2 days ago International

Principal Engineer - Content Lifecycle & StudioRoblox

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About the role

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect within 3D immersive digital experiences. Roblox's mission is to connect a billion people with optimism and civility across any device worldwide.

As a Principal Engineer on Content Lifecycle, you will lead the architecture and technical direction of workflows across Roblox Studio and the core engine platform. In this high-impact technical leadership role, you will design systems that enable human creators and AI agents to collaborate seamlessly at scale by creating, sharing, and managing reusable 3D content. You will solve complex C++ game engine challenges, drive cross-functional alignment across multiple platform teams, and mentor engineers across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Foundational Architecture: Establish the core architecture and long-term technical direction for Roblox Studio to enable real-time collaborative creation at global scale.
• End-to-End Feature Delivery: Plan and architect complex, high-performance features in C++ across the game engine and Roblox Studio desktop environments.
• AI & Creator Collaboration Workflows: Design platform tools and data workflows enabling human creators and AI agents to co-create, manage, and share modular assets.
• Engine Optimization & Quality: Solve deep client/server performance bottlenecks, drive automated testing frameworks, and maintain high standards for system latency, throughput, and stability.
• Engineering Leadership & Mentorship: Lead by example by establishing architectural patterns, conducting design reviews, and mentoring senior engineers across technical domains.

Requirements

Academic & Years of Experience

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience working on deep technical challenges within large-scale C++ codebases.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).

Technical Competencies & Systems Knowledge

• Deep background working on the internals of a multi-player game engine, addressing complex challenges in client/server scale, latency, frame rates, and throughput.
• Demonstrated experience shipping end-to-end features spanning multiple technology stacks and cross-functional teams.
• Understanding of version control system internals (e.g., DAGs, diffing algorithms, object stores).
• Familiarity with 3D scene representation, digital content creation (DCC) tools, file storage systems, or custom network protocols.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience building professional creative software applications, IDEs, or level editors.
• Background in asset pipeline architecture, distributed content delivery, or AI-assisted development tooling.

Work Logistics & Visa Sponsorship Notice

• Workplace Model: Hybrid model requiring in-office attendance at San Mateo HQ on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (Mondays/Fridays optional).
• Visa Sponsorship Note: Roblox currently may not be able to support future H-1B sponsorship or candidates holding certain U.S. visa categories for this specific role.