Unreal Engine Programmer

ZEN8 (Stealth Rebrand) / Connected Swim Training
📍 Lisbon | Full-time - Permanent 

Competitive salary based on experience, with stock options for high-impact results.

About ZEN8 Sports

In a world where cycling, running, and rowing have gone virtual, swimmers have been left behind. We’re changing that.

With over 20,000 athletes already training with our first product, we’ve proven the demand. Now we’re building the world’s first Connected Swim Training platform,  merging smart equipment, real-time performance data, and the thrill of gaming to make swim training accessible, engaging, and exciting for everyone.

We’re currently in stealth, finalizing our next-generation product and closing our Seed round to launch in the coming months. What we’re building will change how millions train, compete, and connect.

Role Overview

As a Unreal Engine Programmer, you’ll play a key role in building the future of Connected Swim Training, a mobile (Android & iOS) experience, turning ideas into real impact for our athletes and community. You’ll work closely with gameplay engineers, designers, and product leads to design, build, and optimize interactive systems, UI experiences, and multiplayer features that push our mission forward.

This isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about owning your lane, seeing the bigger picture, and improving how we work every week.
You’ll bring a mix of focus, creativity, and curiosity, balancing speed with quality to move fast and stay sharp.

We’re looking for someone who loves refining systems, improving processes, and finding better ways to deliver results.

If you thrive in fast-moving environments, learn fast, and enjoy building alongside a passionate, purpose-driven team, you’ll fit right in.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement and maintain UI systems (UMG, widgets, menus) integrated with gameplay and data assets.
• Design data-driven systems using DataTables, DataAssets, and editor scripting for scalable content.
• Support multiplayer replication logic in collaboration with gameplay systems (ability data, inventories, etc.).
• Work closely with engineers to optimize systems for clarity, modularity, and performance.
• Implement, test, and optimize systems for mobile platforms (Android & iOS), ensuring smooth performance and efficient builds.
  
   

Required Skills

• 4–6+ years of Unreal Engine experience, OR shipped, production-level projects that demonstrate equivalent expertise.
• You thrive in fast-moving, cross-functional environments working across gameplay, UI, and systems programming.
• Proven ability to deliver high-quality, performant systems that balance speed, precision, and impact.
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5 (C++, Blueprints, UMG, Data Assets, Replication Framework).
• Strong understanding of modular system design, data-driven architecture, and multiplayer replication concepts.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across engineering, design, and product teams.
• Track record of improving technical workflows, simplifying architecture, and optimizing systems for performance and scalability.
• Analytical mindset with a focus on data validation, profiling, and measurable results.
• Curiosity and drive to learn quickly, adapt, and iterate on complex systems in real time.

• Ability to thrive in a startup or small-team environment, proactive and energized by building robust, scalable features from the ground up.

   

Additional Skills

• Experience working in a startup or small, fast-moving team environment.
  You thrive with autonomy, adapt quickly, and enjoy building things that don’t exist yet.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally and wearing multiple hats when needed.
• Experience with Unreal Engine Editor scripting (Python or Editor Utility Blueprints) for workflow automation.
• Familiarity with backend or platform integrations (Steam, EOS, PlayFab, or AWS Gamelift).
• Knowledge of game telemetry, analytics, or live balancing pipelines to support iterative tuning.

• Experience optimizing mobile performance, packaging, and build pipelines for Android and iOS.

   

Nice to Have

• Passion for triathlon, swimming, endurance sports, or human performance, or you deeply understand what drives athletes to train, improve, and stay consistent.
• Understanding of habit formation, motivation, or behavioral design to make training engaging and repeatable.
• Experience building for virality, community, or network effects, where users motivate each other and growth happens organically.
• A love for making training or shall we say gaming fun and rewarding, you think about why people keep coming back, not just how it works.

We work in a hybrid setup, typically three days in the Lisbon (Portugal) office and two from home, with flexibility depending on role and sprint cycles.