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Activision · 1 day ago

Principal Engineer, Security - Game Protection

Sherman Oaks, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Lead/Staff

$154K/yr - $285K/yr

15+ years exp

Activision is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment, and they are seeking a Principal Engineer for their Game Protection team. The role involves designing and implementing advanced anti-cheat technologies to protect the integrity of the Call of Duty franchise, ensuring a fair gameplay experience for millions of players.

GamingMedia and EntertainmentPC GamesPublishingVideo Games

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Design and implement advanced anti-cheat technologies to stay ahead of emerging threats

Analyze, update, and enhance existing protection frameworks to maintain top-tier security

Investigate, develop, and deploy cheat detection mechanisms that keep gameplay fair and fun

Work closely with engineers across multiple teams to ensure seamless integration and performance

Qualification

C/C++PythonX86_64 assemblyCI/CDAlgorithmsDebugging at scaleGame developmentAnti-cheat experienceWindows kernel developmentARM64 assemblyDevOps experienceCommunication skills

Required

15+ years of professional software development experience

Strong passion for delivering high-quality products

Proven experience architecting and implementing multiple versions of large-scale applications or services that span complex systems

Proficiency in C/C++ and Python

Ability to read and write x86_64 assembly

Knowledge of compiler theory and code obfuscation techniques

Experience working in an engineering organization with a focus on CI/CD, scalability, and automation

Advanced knowledge of algorithms and data structures

Expertise in optimization and debugging at scale

Clear and effective communication skills, both written and verbal

Preferred

Game development experience

Deep understanding or hands-on experience in the anti-cheat domain

Familiarity with Call of Duty game architecture and cheat ecosystem

Experience analyzing cheat software

Professional experience in Windows kernel development

Ability to read and write ARM64 assembly

DevOps experience

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance

401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching

Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave

Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others

If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance

Company

Activision

Glassdoor3.5

Activision develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment, and leisure products. It is a sub-organization of Activision Blizzard.

Founded in 1979

Santa Monica, California, USA

5001-10000 employees

https://www.activision.com/

H1B Sponsorship

Activision has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (74)

2024 (52)

2023 (63)

2022 (77)

2021 (57)

2020 (49)