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Graduate Programmer

At Coconut Lizard we share our industry-leading Unreal Engine expertise with prominent developers across the globe. We are currently working in partnership with Microsoft Rare, where it's been our pleasure to help them bring BAFTA award winning Sea of Thieves to over 25 million players on PC and Xbox since 2018, and on a further two as yet unannounced next generation AAA titles.

Founded in 2015, and part of the Keywords Studios family since 2020, our team is made up of everything from veteran game developers to career changers and fresh graduates. We are fortunate enough to bring our team members all the good things about working in AAA, but with the flexibility and opportunity of working at an outsourcer. We don’t do overtime, which means we don’t do crunch, and on top of that if your application is successful, we’ll be able to offer you one of the best benefits packages you’ll find in the industry.

While the entire company is working remotely, and will be until the current pandemic has passed, we are situated in the Newcastle/Gateshead area. The office is only a short walk from the Metrocentre with hundreds of lunch options, a couple of miles from the cosmopolitan, bustling city of Newcastle, with the beautiful award-winning beaches of Northumberland, and historic cities of Durham and York are close at hand. We are looking for candidates who are willing to relocate to us after Covid-19 has passed, but are willing to consider outstanding applicants who want to work remotely. Note that all interviews will be held by video call.

We are looking for graduate level Programmers to join our team to work on game and engine side systems for out AAA clients. You’ll be working alongside some of the foremost experts in Unreal Engine, both internally and externally, and have the opportunity to develop your skills and learn from the best in the business. A computer science, engineering or similar degree, or equivalent experience writing C++, or a closely related language is essential. Having some experience in a commercial game engine is an advantage. Mostly though we’re after someone who is willing to do their best work and grow with us to become one of our expert Unreal team.

You’ll join us to work on one of our client projects. Typically, we work as embedded teams alongside our clients. As a graduate hire you will be working closely with our more experienced team members. Your duties will be varied based on the needs of the project; some examples include:

• Working with designers to produce new player facing experiences and content.
• Revamp and improve existing core features within game or engine code
• Take ownership and iteratively improve systems and services based on player interactions
• Investigate, debug and fix existing bugs within the game

• Porting games between both desktop and console platforms
• Working with other disciplines to develop tooling to improve workflows / solve development issues

Our team flourishes because of the different things each member can offer. So, your background is less important than having an enthusiasm for developing great tech and great player experiences. We’re looking for people who’ll take ownership of their work and drive it forward.

As a graduate hire you’ll benefit from the experience of our expert team. Our mentorship program provides a framework for all levels of our team to interact and learn from each other, and our regular seminar series ranges from Unreal fundamentals to fascinating problems our more experienced team members have dealt with in the past.

Requirements

Essential

• Experience in C++ or a closely related language to degree level or similar
• A software focused background
• Ability to work well with others

Desired

• Game engine programming experience
• Excellent C++ knowledge
• Strong math skills
• Ability to estimate task schedules/dependencies
• Ability to write well optimised and portable code
• Ability to identify bugs and understand the interplay between systems
• Ability to develop creative and low cost solutions
• Ability to communicate effectively to groups with different technical perspectives

Benefits

Coconut Lizard is a great environment to not only work but to learn and improve. We offer the following benefits to ALL employees:

• Very Competitive Salaries (based on UK comparisons)
• 25 Days' Holiday Per Year PLUS Bank Holidays (bank Holidays dependent on country of residence)
• Up to 10% Company Matched Pension
  • you pay in up to 10% of salary and we'll match it
• Full Private Medical Insurance (PMI) - UK Residents only.
• Medical Cashplan Scheme (dental/optical/...) - UK Residents only.
• Annual Birthday Voucher
• Monthly Social Events
• Christmas Bonus Scheme
• Death in Service Cover
• Fully Stocked Kitchen provided totally free with a selection of:
  • chocolates, donuts, cake, etc
  • soft drinks, coffee, teas, water, etc,
  • breakfast bars, nuts, fruit, healthy alternatives
• Flexible Working Hours