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Senior Gameplay Programmer (Narrative Adventure)

A visionary game development studio founded in 2012, Firesprite builds innovative showcase titles for PlayStation platforms as part of the PlayStation Studios family.

Would you enjoy the freedom to create AAA games working from anywhere in the UK, including our Liverpool studio?

We're looking for a Senior Gameplay Programmer on a dark, narrative driven blockbuster title with genre defining goals. This highly ambitious project takes atmosphere, narrative and player agency firmly into ground-breaking territory on next-generation Unreal 5 & hardware technologies.

As a Senior Gameplay Programmer, you will be responsible for developing and maintaining user facing systems and overall architecture. You will be working on next gen platforms and in areas such as but not limited to – gameplay, animation, AI, NPC systems, NPC Behaviours, state machines, cameras, control systems, physics, etc. We expect Seniors to be able to mentor more junior programmers and take full ownership of game systems from design through implementation to production quality.

Key Responsibilities:

• Prototype, implement, iterate and polish new and existing gameplay mechanics and associated systems.
• Produce robust, efficient, clear and maintainable code, while striving to reduce technical debt across the game.
• Respond to design feedback to help meet the creative vision of the game.
• Provide constructive input to and feedback on potential new features during the initial design, prototyping, iteration and polish stages.
• Work closely with designers, tech designers, tech artists, tech animators, artists and other coders for the systems you create and maintain.
• Take responsibility for, and ownership of, even the thornier elements of shipping a game, such as debugging awkward crashes, profiling and optimising code, and performing diligent testing of changes.
• Mentor more junior programmers.
• Take full ownership of one or multiple game systems.

Requirements

• Strong knowledge of, and experience of programming in C++.
• Learning specific areas of and debugging issues in large and complex C++ based codebases, that utilise custom tools and engines.
• Experience profiling and optimising CPU performance of real-time oriented systems.
• General software engineering knowledge, such as OOP, design patterns & API development.
• Confidence working with 3D maths, vectors, matrices, linear algebra.
• The ability to write and optimise solid, robust and maintainable game code that respects agreed development guidelines.
• Previous relatable experience in a similar role, ideally with experience of working with and a passion for game-play mechanics concerning narrative, action or adventure games.

Additional or Desired Skills:

• An intuition for, and interest in, ‘game feel’.
• Approachable, with a proactive attitude towards cross discipline communication.
• A willingness and desire to learn, adapt and work outside of your comfort zone.
• Self-motivated, and able to self-manage and prioritise own workload.
• Knowledge of AI systems and NPC behaviour systems
• Experienced with Unreal Engine is a plus.
• Experienced with Console development is a plus.
• Experienced with Machine Learning frameworks is a plus.

Benefits

• Private Healthcare Plan
• Bonus Scheme
• Enhanced Holiday Allowance
• Pension Plans
• Work remotely within the UK
• Training & Development
• Employee Assistance Programme - Counselling

Firesprite is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable applicants regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.