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I'm Julian McKinlay, a seasoned C++ software engineer and game developer with over 20 years of experience delivering engine-level systems, gameplay features, and toolchains for AAA and indie titles. I thrive on Unreal Engine work, real-time rendering challenges, and scalable architectures, and I enjoy mentoring teams to ship polished experiences. Over the years I've shipped or contributed to multiple high-profile games including Total War titles and Guitar Hero Live, LEGO Video, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and more. I'm passionate about AI, graphics, UI, and engine development, constantly seeking hard technical problems that bridge creative vision and technical excellence.…I'm Julian McKinlay, a seasoned C++ software engineer and game developer with over 20 years of experience delivering engine-level systems, gameplay features, and toolchains for AAA and indie titles. I thrive on Unreal Engine work, real-time rendering challenges, and scalable architectures, and I enjoy mentoring teams to ship polished experiences. Over the years I've shipped or contributed to multiple high-profile games including Total War titles and Guitar Hero Live, LEGO Video, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and more. I'm passionate about AI, graphics, UI, and engine development, constantly seeking hard technical problems that bridge creative vision and technical excellence.

Julian McKinlay

Game Developer, Programmer, Full Stack Developer, +2

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I'm Julian McKinlay, a seasoned C++ software engineer and game developer with over 20 years of experience delivering engine-level systems, gameplay features, and toolchains for AAA and indie titles. I thrive on Unreal Engine work, real-time rendering challenges, and scalable architectures, and I enjoy mentoring teams to ship polished experiences. Over the years I've shipped or contributed to multiple high-profile games including Total War titles and Guitar Hero Live, LEGO Video, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and more. I'm passionate about AI, graphics, UI, and engine development, constantly seeking hard technical problems that bridge creative vision and technical excellence.…I'm Julian McKinlay, a seasoned C++ software engineer and game developer with over 20 years of experience delivering engine-level systems, gameplay features, and toolchains for AAA and indie titles. I thrive on Unreal Engine work, real-time rendering challenges, and scalable architectures, and I enjoy mentoring teams to ship polished experiences. Over the years I've shipped or contributed to multiple high-profile games including Total War titles and Guitar Hero Live, LEGO Video, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and more. I'm passionate about AI, graphics, UI, and engine development, constantly seeking hard technical problems that bridge creative vision and technical excellence.

Available to hire

I’m Julian McKinlay, a seasoned C++ software engineer and game developer with over 20 years of experience delivering engine-level systems, gameplay features, and toolchains for AAA and indie titles. I thrive on Unreal Engine work, real-time rendering challenges, and scalable architectures, and I enjoy mentoring teams to ship polished experiences.

Over the years I’ve shipped or contributed to multiple high-profile games including Total War titles and Guitar Hero Live, LEGO Video, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and more. I’m passionate about AI, graphics, UI, and engine development, constantly seeking hard technical problems that bridge creative vision and technical excellence.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Work Experience

Founder & Technical Director at Sublight Digital

April 1, 2015 - November 3, 2025

Running a game development studio and consulting service. Led technical direction, tooling, and production for multiple titles and IPs, while delivering prototypes and consulting services for clients in the games space.

Contract Principal Software Engineer at Riot Games

October 1, 2024 - October 1, 2024

Worked on an unannounced R&D project during pre-production, helping to establish core gameplay systems, tooling, content validation, and efficient workflow paradigms.

Programmer at Creative Assembly

October 1, 2014 - October 1, 2014

Contributed to five Total War titles, including Attila (2015) and Rome II (2013); developed gameplay features, engine tech, and AI for real-time battles; helped optimize loading times through I/O improvements.

Software Engineer at Keays Software

June 1, 2009 - June 1, 2009

Built domain-specific software utilities for civil engineering and surveying; created a 3D rendering API and contributed to a bespoke CAD package.