Expert

Principal Software Engineer, Automation - Diablo | Irvine, CA or Albany, NY

Activision Blizzard

Irvine, US, Albany · Hybrid

Team Name: Diablo

Job Title:

Requisition ID:

R026862

Job Description:

We Need You

The minions of hell are growing stronger…

Join us as we continue to shape the Diablo universe! Diablo games are action RPG experiences with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish Dungeons, and legendary loot. Come work with us, and together we’ll create something amazing. Our team of passionate developers is growing.

We are seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer, Automation to help build the next generation of ARPG experiences within one of Blizzard’s most iconic franchises, Diablo. In this role, you will operate as a technical leader, driving the evolution of our automated build and testing pipelines and shaping automation practices across the project. Your work will directly influence the quality, stability, and long-term health of the Diablo franchise.

The Build & Automation team owns the systems that enable Diablo to ship and operate at scale. We are responsible for continuous integration, performance, and development stability across multiple live and in-development game branches, maintaining build clusters, validating game data integrity, executing stress and performance testing, and producing platform-ready builds for all supported platforms.

This role offers a flexible hybrid work week, with a mix of remote and on-site days. While hybrid is the standard arrangement, you're also welcome to work on-site full-time if you prefer. Our primary studio locations are in Albany, NY, and Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities:

Define and evolve the long-term technical direction for automation, CI/CD, and build infrastructure across multiple Diablo projects.
Serve as a principal-level technical advisor to engineering, production, and partner teams, guiding decisions around scalability, risk, and sustainability.
Make architectural trade-offs that balance reliability, performance, cost, and developer experience.
Architect and evolve a comprehensive automation ecosystem covering builds, verification, performance, stress testing, and platform-ready delivery.
Modernize and operate large‑scale hybrid cloud infrastructure, ensuring high availability, scalability, and predictable outcomes for live services.
Improve signal quality, test coverage, and observability through data-driven automation and operational best practices.
Act as a force multiplier by enabling teams to ship faster and safer through strong platforms, tooling, and standards.
Mentor engineers across levels and teams, raising the bar for system design, code quality, and technical rigor.
Lead cross-team alignment through design reviews, technical guidance, and clear ownership models.

Minimum Requirements

12+ years of professional software engineering experience, including shipped products.
Demonstrated impact as a senior technical leader, influencing architecture and strategy beyond your immediate team.
Deep expertise in C# and C++, plus strong proficiency in at least one scripting or interpreted language (e.g., Python, Groovy, Perl).
Proven experience designing and operating large‑scale automation, CI/CD, or build systems.
Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, GCP, or equivalent) and hybrid infrastructure models.
Strong system‑level thinking, with the ability to reason about complex, distributed environments.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to align technical and non-technical stakeholders.
A passion for automation, validation, and building durable engineering systems with a service-oriented mindset.

Bonus Points

Ownership or stewardship of production build systems (e.g., Jenkins) supporting live operations.
Strong working knowledge of Windows and Linux environments.
Experience with SQL databases, telemetry, or data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau).
Version control system integration and large‑repo workflows.
Experience automating workflows for video game consoles.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The video game industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all the qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

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.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $146,000.00 - $270,004.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.