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Online Technical Director (274)

Job Description

Job Purpose

Provide leadership and technical direction for the online aspects of a project, have ultimate responsibility and accountability for the online technical aspects of the project.

Responsibilities

• Define the online technological vision for the project and lead the online technical design of a project or new features and tools when current options do not meet project needs;
• Be accountable for the online technical deliverables of the project;
• Demonstrate exemplary leadership and motivation to the entire technical department on online topics;
• Provide mentorship to all individuals on online topics and support the Technical Director in running a cohesive and effective department;
• Act as the point of contact for all online technical matters at director-level discussions for the project;
• Ensure the coherence, efficiency, scalability, modularity and compatibility of the online features developed by the department;
• Promote good software architectural practices such as design patterns, data modelling, data organisation, and correct use of templates;
• Define good programming practices and coding standards, and ensure they are enforced within the engineering team through regular peer code reviews;
• Determine any necessary engine, game and tool enhancements to meet the project’s online needs and ensure the feasibility of these upgrades;
• Direct programming leads in analysing and resolving issues pertaining to the engine, game, tools and/or middleware if needed;
• Communicate the technical constraints of the technology to team members to inform them on production options and related best practices. Focussing on online features;
• Ensure the game’s optimal performance (frames per second, memory consumption, bandwidth, disk IO, etc.), including post-launch. Focussing on online features;
• In keeping with technical constraints, ensure that project teams have the tools required to produce the required content. Focussing on online features;
• Evaluate existing engines and tools to determine their strengths and weaknesses and recommend those that best meet project objectives and expectations. Focussing on online features;
• Anticipate online technological advances, understand the issues brought about by new hardware and propose software systems that support these changes and possibilities;
• Be an advocate and ambassador for technology sharing across projects;
• Assist the Technical Director in representing the department to Ubisoft and the wider game development industry;
• Assist the Technical Director in reviewing the game and development processes to identify potential improvements.

Qualifications

Skills and Knowledge

• Ability to see the strategic and wider picture;
• Good analytical and decision-making skills;
• Ability to resolve complex issues;
• Self-motivated and pro-active with a strong work ethic;
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills;
• In-depth knowledge of common algorithms, data structures and patterns, and the ability to apply them to problems while keeping constraints and performance in mind;
• Outstanding programming skills, with good knowledge of object-oriented development, design patterns, etc.;
• Proven ability to analyze unfamiliar code of significant complexity to understand and extend or improve the functionality of an existing module;
• Extensive knowledge of hardware and leading video game tools, consoles and technologies;
• In-depth knowledge of different software development methods such as Test-Driven Development, Unit Testing, Agile etc.;
• In-depth experience in solving typical online issues related to latency, bandwidth usage and synchronization of game objects;
• In-depth knowledge in online topics such as community support, e-commerce, DLC and security;
• Expertise in analysis and debugging, being able to track down complicated issues on object replication, proposing tooling to simplify the debugging of these issues for all engineering team members;
• Expertise on online backend architecture;
• Expertise in cloud architecture: cloud management systems, container systems, services and machine scalability;
• Awareness and familiarity with online cost control.

Relevant Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject or equivalent industry experience;
• 10 years’ experience in coding or other relevant experience;
• Experience working within various game engines is essential;
• Significant involvement in 4 published games, with at least 2 projects at a senior level.

Additional Information

Salary: Competitive + Relocation
Location: Newcaslte upon Tyne, UK

Company Description

Ubisoft is 10,000 creative minds spanning 6 continents. With around 85% of its staff devoted to game development, Ubisoft has the 2nd largest in-house creative team in the world.

The company’s 27 different creative studios work hand-in-hand each day to deliver rich and innovative gaming experiences that reflect the creativity and diversity of their teams. This cross-studio collaboration model means every team member has the opportunity to participate in challenging projects based on brands including Assassin's Creed®, For Honor® Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon®, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell®, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy's The Division, Rabbids®, Rayman®, Watch Dogs®, Far Cry®, The Crew®, Just Dance® and more.