An internal combustion engine system includes an engine housing having a combustion cylinder, and a piston movable within the combustion cylinder to increase a pressure therein to an autoignition threshold for injected fuel. The piston includes a piston crown having a combustion face forming a combustion bowl, and varied in profile to form jet-jet interaction limiters at locations offset from fuel spray jet paths from a fuel injector. The jet-jet interaction limiters include a bowl component and a step component protruding, respectively, within the combustion bowl and a step located transitioning between the combustion bowl and a circumferential rim of the piston. Limiting jet-jet interaction limits soot production in exhaust produced by the engine.