Suggested rewrite: Led a cross-functional initiative that improved [business outcome] by [measurable result], demonstrating experience relevant to this role...
Senior Engineer, Server – NBA 2K
- Remote from
- USA
- Salary
- USD 117,700–174,300 / yr
- Department
- Software Engineering
- Employment
- Full Time
- Experience
- Director
- Published
- Apply before
- 14 Dec 2026
- Listing views
- 30
- Application actions
- 1
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About this role.
At Visual Concepts, we believe great games are made by diverse and empowered teams with a shared passion for play. As one of the world’s top game development studios, we have shipped over 100 multi-sku titles to critical acclaim and commercial success. Our teams are independent and entrepreneurial. Our studios in Novato, Irvine, Budapest, Shanghai, Austin, Boise, Seoul, and Parksville, Canada are committed to artistry and technical innovation, offering top candidates the opportunity to learn and grow with some of the smartest and most creative minds in the industry.
What We Need:
We’re seeking a Senior Engineer with a passion for server-side development to join the NBA 2K team! In this role, you’ll take ownership across a broad technical landscape- working in distributed systems, large-scale computing, and efficient databases to build high-performance backend services. Your work will play a key role in delivering world-class online experiences that power one of the most popular sports game franchises in the world. This role reports into Lead Director of Programming.
What You Will Do:
- Work in the backend architecture and services that support NBA 2K’s online features
- Design and optimize distributed systems to ensure scalability, reliability, and fault tolerance
- Build and maintain large-scale computing solutions that handle millions of concurrent players
- Develop efficient database structures and queries to support high-volume, real-time transactions
- Deliver high-performance backend services with a focus on low latency and stability
- Partner with engineering and design teams to enable seamless online gameplay experiences.
Who Will Be A Great Fit:
- 5+ years of professional software development experience, with a strong focus on backend and server-side systems
- Strong proficiency in C++ with a solid understanding of object-oriented programming principles
- Proficiency in one or more scripting languages such as Python, PHP, Perl, or Ruby, with a strong preference for Python
- Understanding of distributed and scalable systems
- Proven experience with multithreaded programming, driving efficiency and stability across large-scale, real-time environments
- Demonstrated ability to research, evaluate, and integrate emerging technologies and trends to enhance team capabilities, platform performance, and product innovation
- BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience in large-scale software development
- Experience developing secure transaction systems, including virtual currency and account-based features, a strong plus
- Skilled in database optimization, including connection management and query performance tuning
- Familiarity with online gaming architectures and service design for live, connected player experiences
- Working knowledge of SQL databases such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or similar systems
- Video game console development experience is highly beneficial
- Love for video games (not just ours!)
This is a fully remote role that may be based anywhere in the United States. Below are the expected salary and wage ranges for applicants based in locations where the pay transparency law is in effect: California: $130,700 – $174,300 per year. New York State (inclusive of New York City): $117,700 – $157,000 per year. Washington: $130,700 – $174,300 per year. New Jersey: $117,700 – $157,000 per year. British Columbia: $115,700 -$154,300 (CAD) per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.
To learn more about Visual Concepts and our studio locations, check out our website at www.vcentertainment.com
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Sample interview questions
I would begin by defining traffic patterns, latency objectives, consistency needs, and failure scenarios. I would design stateless services behind load balancers, use horizontal scaling, partition data carefully, and introduce asynchronous messaging for non-critical workflows. Observability, rate limiting, caching, and load testing would be built in from the start.
I analyze query plans and production metrics to identify slow queries, missing indexes, connection contention, and inefficient access patterns. Typical improvements include targeted indexing, query rewrites, connection pooling, caching, batching, and data partitioning. I also validate every change under realistic load to avoid shifting bottlenecks elsewhere.
I minimize shared mutable state and prefer clear ownership boundaries, immutable data, and message passing where appropriate. When synchronization is necessary, I use well-scoped locks or concurrency primitives, document invariants, and avoid holding locks across expensive operations. I also use profiling, stress tests, sanitizers, and code reviews to detect races and deadlocks.
I would assume dependencies can fail independently and design for timeouts, retries with backoff and jitter, circuit breakers, idempotent operations, and graceful degradation. Critical state changes should be durable and observable, with clear recovery procedures. I would also test failure modes through fault injection and ensure alerts focus on user-impacting signals.
I would use authenticated and authorized service boundaries, server-authoritative validation, idempotency keys, auditable transaction records, and strict input validation. Transactions should be atomic where possible, with reconciliation processes for exceptional failures. Monitoring for anomalous behavior and careful access controls would further reduce fraud and integrity risks.
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