Network Engineers

A persistent MMO lives or dies on the quality of its networking layer. We need a Senior Network Engineer who can build the server infrastructure, networking architecture, and online systems that allow thousands of players to share a seamless, responsive world.

You will report to the CTO and work closely with gameplay engineers, backend developers, and DevOps to design and implement the server architecture, replication systems, and online services that underpin the entire game experience.

We are in early production. The studio has been running for three years, and server architecture, zone streaming, player session management, and replication models are still being designed. You will be making foundational decisions about how the game handles player connections, distributes load, and maintains state across a persistent world. These decisions will define the game's technical ceiling for years to come.

Your Role

Server Architecture and Networking

• Design and implement the server architecture for a persistent MMO: dedicated server topology, zone distribution, player session management, and load balancing.
• Build and optimise Unreal Engine networking systems including replication, relevancy, bandwidth management, and client-server authority models.
• Architect systems for zone streaming and seamless world transitions so that players move between areas without loading screens or connection drops where possible.
• Design scalable matchmaking, instancing, and shard management systems that handle variable player populations and world events.
• Profile and optimise network performance: replication bandwidth, tick rates, packet loss handling, and latency compensation across global player populations.

Online Services and Infrastructure

• Collaborate with backend engineers to build player-facing online services: authentication, friends lists, party systems, guilds, chat, and presence.
• Work with DevOps to define server deployment, scaling, and monitoring strategies using cloud infrastructure. Ensure the game can handle peak loads and recover gracefully from failures.
• Implement robust reconnection, state recovery, and graceful degradation systems. Players should not lose progress or context due to transient network issues.
• Design data persistence strategies for player state, inventory, progression, and world state in a distributed server environment.

Collaboration and Quality

• Work closely with gameplay engineers to ensure gameplay systems are designed for networked play from the start: server authority, prediction, rollback, and cheat resistance.
• Collaborate with QA to define networking test plans, latency simulation environments, and automated stress testing.
• Contribute to architecture documentation, technical design reviews, and knowledge sharing across the engineering team.
• Provide technical guidance to other engineers on networking best practices and multiplayer system design., A leading consultancy firm in Manchester is seeking an experienced consultant specializing in Heat Network and Distributed Energy projects. This role supports sustainability initiatives while ensuring successful delivery across various client organizations. The ideal...

• Proven experience in game development or distributed systems engineering, with at least one shipped multiplayer title or live online service.
• Strong experience with Unreal Engine networking: replication, relevancy, net serialisation, and dedicated server workflows.
• Deep understanding of network programming fundamentals: TCP/UDP, socket programming, packet design, bandwidth management, and latency compensation techniques.
• Experience designing server architectures for persistent or session-based multiplayer games, including session management, load distribution, and failover.
• Proficiency in C++ with production experience writing networked gameplay and server systems.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to solving cross-discipline technical problems., * Experience shipping at least one MMO or persistent online world from production through live service.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure for game servers: provisioning, auto-scaling, regional deployment, and cost management on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Familiarity with database systems for game state persistence: relational, document, or key-value stores at scale.
• Experience with anti-cheat systems, exploit detection, or security hardening for multiplayer games.
• Exposure to large-scale world streaming, spatial partitioning, or interest management systems for persistent online worlds.

About You

• You think about systems under stress. You design for the worst-case scenario, not the demo.
• You understand that networking quality is invisible when done well and game-breaking when done poorly. You take pride in the infrastructure players never notice.
• You are comfortable working through ambiguity. Early production means not everything is defined yet, and you see that as an opportunity to shape the right architecture.
• You are rigorous about testing and profiling. You do not ship networking code based on assumptions about real-world conditions.
• You work autonomously in a remote environment, proactively keeping your lead and collaborators informed.
• We are committed to making our hiring process accessible. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know.

At Couch Heroes, we're exploring new ground for the MMO genre. In a world where fantasy and ancient technology intertwine, players explore shattered realms, grapple across verticality, solve puzzles, and push back corruption, with progression driven by player expression and discovery. We envision bridging generations of gamers, creating a space where both coexist and journey together. We're developing in Unreal Engine, in early production, with a team spanning multiple countries. We're remote-first, based in the UK, and scaling to support a multi-year live-service roadmap. We value autonomy, curiosity, and collaborative ownership, and we're looking for creators who want to help build something from the ground up. Sound like your kind of thing? We should talk., Couch Heroes have partnered with Skillsearch on this hire. Jack is leading the search directly with the studio leadership, so feel free to reach out to him at jb@skillsearch.com. He will be your point of contact throughout. Looking forward to connecting!, At Capgemini Invent, we believe difference drives change. As inventive transformation consultants, we blend our strategic, creative and scientific capabilities, collaborating closely with clients to deliver cutting-edge solutions. Join us to drive transformation tailored to...