Emulation Engineer (Implicit Converstions)
We’re looking for a creative and skilled Emulation Engineer to join our team and help bring classic games to life on modern hardware.
In this role, you’ll design, build, and refine emulators that make older titles run smoothly and accurately on today’s platforms.
You’ll collaborate closely with engineers, producers, and QA to fine-tune performance, ensure compatibility, and deliver a great player experience. Your work will play a key role in preserving and reintroducing classic games for a whole new generation of players.
Responsibilities:
Develop, maintain, and expand upon our existing emulators and tools
Implement and optimize CPU, GPU, audio, and input system emulation
Profile and improve game performance
Debug compatibility issues across a variety of platforms
Reverse engineer games to patch out bugs, replace media, add achievements/trophies, and add a variety of modern enhancements
Collaborate with QA to identify bugs, regressions and accuracy issues
Develop tools and workflows to aid debugging, testing, and validation
Document systems, findings, and technical approaches for internal teams
Communicate with the team on Slack, email, and in meetings to learn, improve, share knowledge and status updates
Requirements:
Strong C++ skills and a deep understanding of computer architecture, including CPU/GPU behavior and memory management
Hands-on experience with reverse engineering and debugging tools
Familiarity with assembly languages (such as x86, ARM, or MIPS) and binary analysis
Solid grasp of graphics and audio emulation techniques
Experience building and optimizing software across multiple platforms
Clear communicator who works well in a remote team and takes initiative when solving problems
Genuine passion for retro games and emulation
Bonus Points
Experience with game emulation or cross-platform ports (commercial or open source)
Experience creating patches or changes to classic games
Ability to identify issues in classic game code without source code
Understanding of modern GPU rendering pipelines
Super Bonus: PlayStation 2 emulation experience
Skills Required
- Strong C++ skills
- Deep understanding of computer architecture
- Hands-on experience with reverse engineering and debugging tools
- Familiarity with assembly languages
- Solid grasp of graphics and audio emulation techniques
- Experience building and optimizing software across multiple platforms
- Clear communicator in a remote team
- Genuine passion for retro games and emulation
What We Do
Atari is a multi-platform, global interactive entertainment and licensing company. The original innovator of video gaming, founded in 1972, Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, Test Drive®, Backyard Sports®, Ghostbusters®, and Rollercoaster Tycoon®. Atari capitalizes on these powerful properties by delivering compelling games online (i.e. browser, Facebook® and digital download), on smartphones and tablets and other connected devices. The Company also develops and distributes interactive entertainment for video game consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. As a licensor, Atari extends its brand and franchises into other media, merchandising and publishing categories. In 2018, Atari relaunched its hardware business with its first new game system in years, the Atari VCS. Atari is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris stock exchange.
