Working Student - Research & Development (all genders)

Job description

About Atari Atari is an interactive entertainment company and an iconic gaming industry brand recognized worldwide for its multi-platform games and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 400 games and franchises, including globally recognized brands such as Asteroids® , Centipede® , Missile Command® , Pong® , and RollerCoaster Tycoon® . The Atari family of brands includes Digital Eclipse, Nightdive Studios, Infogrames, AtariAge, MobyGames, as well as Coatsink, Early Morning Studios, and Stormteller Games—spanning game development, publishing, and community experiences worldwide. Atari operates internationally with offices in New York, Paris, Germany, and India. Overview As an R&D Intern on the Strategic Projects team, you'll investigate emerging technologies, build rapid prototypes, and help Atari leadership decide where to place strategic bets. This is not a "make slides about trends" role. You will be expected to build things: prototypes, teardowns, working demos, and decision-ready writeups. You should be comfortable with ambiguity, limited structure, and fast-changing priorities. Startup or scale-up experience is a bonus. What You’ll Do Evaluate emerging tech relevant to Atari's portfolio, including AI/ML in games, new engines, distribution platforms, emulation tech, modding ecosystems, and retro-tech revivals, and write sharp teardowns with a recommendation. Build quick proofs-of-concept with working code, not mockups, to stress-test whether strategic ideas are feasible and worth pursuing before we commit serious resources. Track the indie, experimental, and retro gaming landscape for tools, trends, and IP opportunities worth Atari's attention. Synthesize findings into briefings that an executive can act on in 10 minutes — no fluff, no jargon padding. Run small experiments end-to-end: define the hypothesis, build the test, report the result, and recommend the next step. Translate prototype results into clear recommendations: pursue, park, test further, or stop. Use AI coding tools and workflow automation tools to move faster, while still understanding what you are building. Work with non-technical stakeholders and explain technical findings clearly. Push back on bad ideas when the data says so. Requirements & Qualifications Currently enrolled student in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related technica…