In an industry not known for taking care of its people, Hinterland strives to be different. We believe that the diversity, points of view, experience, and individual backgrounds of our team members contribute to a rich mosaic that helps us create better experiences, and helps those experiences reach a wider audience. 

Hinterland is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply for our positions, regardless of ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation or identity, or religious affiliation. We value seniority and experience for our senior and leadership roles, but are always looking for ways to bring diverse viewpoints and experiences from across the spectrum of entertainment and technology.

We embrace a flexible working environment that focuses on high-autonomy balanced against high personal accountability. All our positions are remote-first, focused on finding the best fit for culture and talent. This remote-first flexibility is balanced with a physical studio in Vancouver, which is optionally available (COVID-permitting) to anyone on the team who wants to use it. We strengthen our team bond through offsite retreats, where we focus on creating memories together. We feel this balance of remote and in-person opportunities creates the strongest alloy for our culture.

We encourage everyone on the team to find balance between work and life, and never ask anyone to compromise one for the other. We are a No Crunch studio. We have high expectations of the level of commitment and the quality of the work done by our team, and trust everyone to manage their own schedule and workload. We offer a generous bundle of benefits and vacation time, and strongly encourage our team members to enjoy the 5+ weeks of paid time off we offer annually. We are a family-first studio and offer a range of tools to support our team and their growing families.

Our Culture

We have a high-autonomy, high-accountability culture. Project teams work to support a clear direction, and individuals are expected to sign on to accomplish their goals with the minimal amount of supervision. We don’t want to micromanage and we can’t have people who need that.

We believe that to create thoughtful entertainment, you need thoughtful people. We want people who appreciate the value of discourse, and aren’t afraid to present an alternative opinion. Our aim is to attract the best collaborators we can, and great collaboration comes from a willingness to share your point of view within an environment where there is a clear direction and strong decision-making can happen.

We have a light project-management infrastructure that emphasizes communication and collaboration over “time in your chair”. We believe everyone on the team has a stake in work being completed on time, and we expect everyone to be active contributors to the planning process.

We believe that anyone good enough to join Hinterland is good enough to be trusted to make a meaningful contribution in a way that aligns with company and project goals, without needing to be closely managed. Success with this approach depends on having mature people with a wealth of experience. We recognize that not everyone can work this way, which is why it’s good to talk about it up front.

We believe that being given a high degree of autonomy means you have the responsibility to be accountable for the commitments you have made to your team-mates, your project, and the studio at large. Accountability without autonomy is not fair to the individual, but autonomy without accountability is not fair to the team.

We strive to do things differently, to ensure they are always done to the highest ethical and moral standard, both in work and in business. We take care of each other, we take care of our projects, and we collectively take care of the company. In turn, the company takes care of us.

We expect anyone who joins Hinterland to be committed to having a respectful work environment. We do not crunch, we do not do office politics, and we do not abuse people. We want you to have a life outside of work, so that you can bring positive energy to the team dynamic and help us achieve great things.

We also acknowledge that our culture may not be for everyone, and that’s ok. In the hiring process, we are filtering our fit to you, as much as your fit for us. In the end, we want you to be happy at Hinterland, and nobody benefits from a missed alignment in goals or culture. The longer we can work together, the stronger we can become as a studio, and we think it’s worth taking the time that’s needed to ensure there’s a good fit, for you and for us.

Our purpose is to make Hinterland the best creator of interactive experiences in the world. We won’t get there without you. Join us in our mission.

Life at Hinterland

• Remote-First. We embrace a flexible working environment that focuses on high-autonomy balanced against high personal accountability. All our positions are remote-first, focused on finding the best fit for culture and talent. This remote-first flexibility is balanced with a physical studio in Vancouver, which is optionally available (COVID-permitting) to anyone on the team who wants to use it. We strengthen our team bond through offsite retreats, where we focus on creating memories together. We feel this balance of remote and in-person opportunities creates the strongest alloy for our culture.
• Team Benefits. Our benefits programs are aimed at supporting our team and their families to live a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. In addition to the standard benefits you may expect, we also offer parental leave top-ups, learning and tuition support, as well as paid summer and winter studio closures.
• Vancouver, BC / Victoria, BC. We are fortunate enough to live in such beautiful and ethnically diverse cities, surrounded by the mountains and the sea. Both Vancouver and Victoria are a perfect place for outdoor enthusiasts, as well as those who enjoy participating in varied cultural and culinary experiences.
• Immigration. We are committed to creating a world-class studio, so our first priority is to hire the best talent we can find. We remain open to relocating the ideal candidate, but will give preference to local candidates whenever possible.
• Giving Back. At Hinterland, we value community and supporting the local economy. We have partnered with a few charities such as the World Health Organization, Tree Canada, The Vancouver Foodbank, Doctors without Borders and Damage Labs to give back and support their initiatives. Each year, we find more local charities to partner and volunteer our time with.

Join Us on Our Journey

We are a diverse group of creators who care as much about how we make things, as what we make. We care about our worlds, our players, and our people. We believe passion for work and balance in life are not only compatible ideas, but are symbiotic. If you want to help craft the future of interactive entertainment, join us on our journey.

Imagine the lights go out, never to return. Bright aurora flare across the sky, and all humanity’s technological might is laid to waste, neutralized in a kind of quiet apocalypse. Everything that has shielded humanity from the disinterested power of Mother Nature is suddenly wrenched from us, dropping us a few links down the food chain. Food and water are scarce. The roads are no longer safe. And winter approaches…

Welcome to The Long Dark —an immersive survival simulation set in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. Experience a unique first-person survival simulation that will force you to think and push you to your limits with its thought-provoking gameplay.