Jobs

Half Mermaid Productions is an independent video game studio founded by Sam Barlow. Our mission is to create authored, player-centric stories across the spectrum of narrative genres. Our game IMMORTALITY was the first ever indie game to get a perfect 10/10 in Edge Magazine and won BAFTA, GDC, and IGF awards, holding its own against AAA titans.


Work With Us on Project D████

We are developing a third person horror game with experimental narrative, a return to the genre that Sam previously explored with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Candidates with experience of shipping a third person Unreal title on console are preferred. We’re combining AAA experience with indie agility to deliver a big, ambitious game and are assembling a small team to make it happen as we move from pre-production into full development.

Our Open Roles

  • Lead Programmer
  • Character & Camera Programmer
  • AI & Combat Programmer
  • General Designer
  • Lead Animator
  • Animator

All candidates for the above roles are expected to fulfill the following requirements:

  • Comfort working with a hybrid in-person and remote team
  • An appreciation for narrative and psychological horror
  • Alignment with our studio’s stated mission and values

Please review each role’s individual responsibilities and skills below. Salaries listed reflect the estimated base range for the roles. Your offer will be based on multiple factors, such as experience and work location.

These are full-time positions scheduled to begin in Summer 2024. We are open to discussing remote or hybrid working formats with the right candidate.

Applicants from traditionally marginalized identities within the game industry are highly encouraged to apply. Half Mermaid Productions does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.

To apply, please use our Job Application form. Do not email your application, it will not be reviewed if it is not submitted using the Job Application form.

If you have any questions or encounter any issues using our job application form, please email [email protected]

Lead Programmer

We are seeking a Lead Programmer to join our studio and manage the codebase and programming team for an upcoming project in development. 

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Designing, developing, and managing the codebase and build process
  • Manage and mentor a small programming team
  • Experienced with
    • Third-person character gameplay and animation systems
    • Complex level streaming
    • Motion capture pipelines
    • Photoreal rendering
  • Shipped a third person character game on console
  • Experienced with Unreal Engine 5

Yearly Salary Range: $100,000 – $150,000

Character & Camera Programmer

We are seeking a Character & Camera Programmer to join our studio and spearhead the engineering of character and camera code for an upcoming project in development.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Design and engineer 3rd person camera and character systems alongside game design team
  • Experienced with
    • Third-person character gameplay and animation systems
    • Traversal and combat gameplay
    • Motion capture pipelines
  • Shipped a third person character game on console
  • Experienced with Unreal Engine 5

Yearly Salary Range: $85,000 – $115,000

AI & Combat Programmer

We are seeking an AI & Combat Programmer to join our studio and develop the systems and tech to drive our game’s antagonists and the gameplay and content features that govern the player’s interactions with them. 

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Implement and architect enemy AI and combat gameplay
  • Work with animation and design teams to create proofs of concept in Unreal engine
  • Experienced with:
    • State machines, animation graphs, etc.
    • Character physics
    • Enemy AI and Combat Systems
  • Shipped a third person character game on console
  • Experienced with Unreal Engine 5

Yearly Salary Range: $85,000 – $115,000

General Designer

We are seeking a General Designer to join our studio and contribute to the design for an upcoming project in development.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Scripting of complex non-linear narrative content, gameplay logic and engine tags
  • Scripting and character setup for NPC and combat scenarios
  • Experienced with open level design, procedural assets and streaming design
  • Shipped a character based game on console
  • Experienced with Unreal Engine 5 and blueprints
  • Loves doors

Yearly Salary Range: $50,000 – $80,000

Lead Animator

We are seeking a Lead Animator to join our studio and lead animation for an upcoming project in development, including creating and managing a small team.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Define animation style for both grounded, real world human characters and inhuman characters alike
  • Take animations from design spec through key pose to finished animation, creating responsive but authentic motion
  • Manage and mentor a small animation team
  • Shipped a character based game on console
  • Experienced with motion capture pipelines and interest in cutting edge technologies to reduce cost and effort for performance capture 
  • Experience with Unreal Engine 5

Yearly Salary Range: $90,000 – $120,000

Animator

We are seeking an Animator to join our studio and create animations for an upcoming project in development.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SKILLS

  • Create animations for both grounded, real world human characters and inhuman characters alike
  • Take animations from design spec through key pose to finished animation, creating responsive but authentic motion
  • Shipped a character-based game on console
  • Experience with combat and grapple animations
  • Experienced with motion capture pipelines and interest in cutting edge technologies to reduce cost and effort for performance capture 
  • Experience with Unreal Engine 5

Yearly Salary Range: $70,000 – $100,000


If you have any questions, please feel free to email us: [email protected].