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Lead Engineer, Tooling

Improbable has created SpatialOS: a networking solution combining low latency, tools for faster iteration, and a ready-to-go architecture capable of supporting innovative games.

Now the Improbable Defence division, building on the backbone of SpatialOS, has combined world class scientific modelling, market leading AI, mission specific user interfaces and a uniquely flexible and secure deployment model to create a powerful simulation platform tailored to the needs of the military.

Our mission? To enable the most realistic and effective military simulations ever experienced, making defence users more effective on operations and decreasing the cost of military preparedness.

In 2021, we are kicking off a new team focusing on building the large suite of tools we need to provide ways for users to interact with our core platform. The interaction can be in the form of a CLI for engineers to build applications on our platform, a polished UI tool assisting scientists and modellers to fine tune their models on our environment or anything in between. The remit for this team is fairly wide and we expect this team to grow into its own area within the next 1-2 years.

Kicking off a new team is always an exciting and challenging task. We are looking for an experienced engineer who is passionate about building the right product with the right tech and the right people. This is very much a hands on role but we can see this evolving within the first 6-12 months to a pure tech leadership role - focusing on architecture and design on one hand and technical coaching and mentoring (via code reviews, pairing, Dojos, etc) on the other.

Areas for impact

• Be able to demonstrate user and customer focus in your thinking, making decisions on this basis.
• Be able (and willing) to support the Engineering Manager in their role, deputising as needed.
• Help setting up the team: get involved in recruitment and work closely with our Product function to shape up the first few deliverables.
• Establish the technical direction of the team: work with our community of principal engineers to establish technical ways of working. This should encompass everything from technology choices, design and architecture, release cycles, quality and more.
• Get your hands dirty: this is a hands on role. Don’t just guide people but lead the way by example

We'd like to hear from you if you identify with the following:

• Broad experience of engineering (ideally some of it in a growing start up environment) - be able to demonstrate working across multiple projects with different technologies.
• Experience working on user focused software projects with external customers in a B2B environment.
• Experience leading technical teams on complex projects or products
• A background in Computer Science is a plus, but is not mandatory
• Python, React, or GoLang are a plus but not mandatory
• Find out more in our detailed briefing pack here
• Please note due to the nature of this role you will be expected to meet requirements associated with obtaining UK security vetting clearance

The best ideas are often the least expected and require new ways of thinking; that’s why our teams at Improbable are made up of an incredible range of talented people. Improbable is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, colour, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status or any other legally protected status.