At ArenaNet, we’ve always believed that games are art. They have the power to communicate ideas and tell stories. They can change the way we think, reflect our cultures, and move us. As the developer of the award-winning Guild Wars game series, we’re proud to share our passion for the online worlds we’ve created with over 11 million players worldwide.
ArenaNet develops and publishes games for every kind of person, which means our games need to be built by every kind of person. We believe the best experiences come from working together, celebrating differences, and helping each of our team members shine.
We are looking for a skilled Systems Engineer to join our team and help support the complex distributed systems that power our games.
Why join our Systems Engineering Team?
- Your expertise matters. Our Systems Engineers are trusted to research and implement innovative solutions to the challenges of running live games at scale.
- Automation is key. We continuously refine and automate our systems to minimize downtime and late-night alerts.
- Make an impact.Your technical expertise will directly influence the performance, reliability, and success of our games.
- Collaborative environment. We work closely with engineering and operations teams to ensure smooth and efficient game operations.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Keeping the infrastructure that runs our games humming along through continuous tuning and automation.
- Design, implement, and maintaining fault tolerant systems to reduce technical debt and solve the new problems we face as a growing company.
- Collaborating with the Security Operations team to ensure that every system is as secure and compliant as possible while still respecting the needs of the studio, the players, and regulatory authorities.
- Validate and improve existing disaster recovery plans to prove that backups work.
- Ensure the platform that our players depend on remains available, maintaining 99.999% uptime.
- Create and maintain operational and design documentation to ensure every member of the team is set up for success.
- Collaborate with Engineering and Operations teams to deliver valuable solutions to our players and the studio.
- Cross train with teammates and other Technical Operations staff.
- Strive to build a fully automated, self-healing production environment so the team has fewer reasons to wake up at 3am.
- Participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation with the team.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL
Education & Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- 2+ years of experience as a Systems Analyst or a similar IT role.
Technical Skills:
- Strong understanding of DNS, NFS, SMTP, HTTP, and TCP/IP protocols.
- Proficiency in scripting languages (Python, PowerShell, Bash, or equivalent).
- Experience with endpoint protection (e.g., Cylance).
- Knowledge of cloud hosting providers (AWS, Azure, or similar).
- Familiarity with NAS or SAN storage and backup/restore procedures for Windows and SQL infrastructure.
- Understanding of Windows Server Active Directory, Certificate Administration, and Windows Server Update Services.
- Experience with server virtualization administration (HyperV, VMware, or similar).
Core Competencies:
- System administration, tuning, and automation to maintain high-performance environments.
- Database, web, and mail server administration for critical infrastructure.
- SAN administration to ensure efficient storage solutions.
- Systems and application monitoring to maintain uptime and performance.
- Fault-tolerant distributed system design for reliability at scale.
- Configuration management to streamline and optimize deployments.
Communication & Collaboration:
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage effectively across all levels of the organization.
Certifications We Value:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect
- AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
Priority consideration will be given to candidates local to the Bellevue, WA area or those open to relocating and occasionally working onsite.
This is a hybrid position based out of our Bellevue, WA office.
Please note that the pay range listed in this job posting reflects the full salary range for this position. While we provide this range to offer transparency, our target hiring range typically falls between the minimum and the midpoint, allowing for growth potential within the role.
Total compensation is salary plus an annual bonus potential. When determining an offer amount, many things are taken into consideration such as qualifications, experience, internal equity and work location. We strive to provide competitive and equitable compensation packages to all our employees.
This role is also eligible for medical, dental, vision and life insurance, short and long term disability, 401(k), flexible and dependent care spending accounts, PTO, paid holidays and parental leave.
Bellevue pay range
$99,045—$148,565 USD
Don’t meet every single requirement on this job post? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At ArenaNet, we believe diversity in culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and backgrounds make us a better team – we celebrate it. So, if you’re excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Top Skills
What We Do
We’re ArenaNet— and we’ve created a studio that makes online worlds infused with innovation, hand-
crafted excellence, and creative passion.We’re not the only ones who share this passion; gamers have purchased over 3 million copies of Guild Wars 2 since launch, and players and press have consistently called it one of the best MMOs of all time.
Our studio is built on a foundation of innovation, community, and hand-crafted excellence. We’re unlocking the true potential of online roleplaying with game-changing titles like the revolutionary Guild Wars 2. The status quo isn’t good enough for the dedicated worldwide community of GW2 players, which is why we question industry conventions and demand more from ourselves as developers.
We’re always searching for world-class talent. Take a look at our current job openings at ArenaNet’s offices in Bellevue, WA.
