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Technical Director

Build a Rocket Boy
Edinburgh Edinburgh, City of
4 years ago
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Build A Rocket Boy is conducting a search for an experienced and highly qualified Gameplay Technical Director who will be accountable for the technical ownership, decision making and execution within this strategic domain. This position is operationally based in our Edinburgh studio.

This is a key leadership position and will influence the direction for multiple teams and own a critical technology domain. This role reports to the Company Technical Director.

The ideal candidate is a forward-looking technology leader and a recognized expert within this strategic domain. Within their team, this role innovates and pioneers design, process, workflow, metrics, planning and architecture. As a member of the studio leadership team, the position is influential with a strong impact on recruiting, developing and retaining high quality staff as well as growing high performing teams.

The role will collaborate with art, animation, design, script, engineering, sound, and production to rally around and deliver a consistent vision for the gameplay experience. The position spans several technical subsystems and the ideal candidate will have a breadth of mastery including, but not limited to, gameplay systems (including camera and combat), animation, physics, user interface, audio, artificial intelligence and gameplay network architecture.

We are a team of passionate developers that highly values open-minded collaboration, direct feedback, and the eagerness to grab and drive game development quality. As the studio’s Gameplay Technical Director, you will inspire and align the team around a technical vision that results in best-in-class gameplay, art, and audio experiences. By directly managing a team of lead engineers and collaborating with project directors, you will set strategic initiatives and break down clear and achievable goals. When particularly hard problems arise, you will draw upon the team's collective creativity to finalize a technical vision that meets the project's needs.

The ideal candidate will have proven experience with directing game development efforts for modern AAA titles. Additionally, the candidate will possess an exceptional ability to inspire large teams and pitch/evangelize ideas as part of a larger-scale creative framework. By blending your mastery of engineering, design, and creative direction, you will inspire and align your teams around building epic, memorable experiences.

Responsibilities:

  • Own the architecture for the gameplay domain, building systems and solutions with multiple teams in mind.
  • Accountable for overall technical design within the domain of gameplay.
  • Accountable for overall code quality within assigned teams and ensure code is reviewed.
  • Ensure code is cross platform, reusable and testable.
  • Collaborate across a diverse cross-disciplinary team to ensure that gameplay, physics, animation, audio, artificial intelligence and user interface goals are clearly defined.
  • Partner with design, art, animation, engineering, scripting and audio to create new features, systems, and tools that meet the project’s needs.
  • Identify technical risks on projects and develop contingency plans to put into place with your team.
  • Ensure the coherence, efficiency, scalability, modularity, and compatibility of the technology developed by your team.
  • Author, pitch, and maintain relevant parts of the technical design document.
  • Partner with technical directors and senior engineers across the organization to promote cross-team shared code initiatives.
  • Directly manage and mentor engineering staff.
  • Manage the overall performance of the programming team and manage direct reports.
  • Gather and provide effective and constructive feedback to the team, providing suggestions and solutions for improvement when applicable.
  • Drive engineer recruiting; work with HR/Recruiting to hire top talent.
  • Responsible for all technical process and technology within their assigned teams and their related needs across a Business Unit and/or Studio.
  • Remain current on industry trends, including new game genres, new game development technology and techniques, and trending audio visual excellence.
  • Maintain regular internal communications and encourage a pleasant team atmosphere.
  • Demonstrate good leadership, charisma, enthusiasm and a sense of commitment.

Requirements:

  • BSc(Hons) (or higher) degree in Computer Science or equivalent.
  • At least ten years of AAA game programming experience; shipped multiple AAA titles with at least one in leadership position.
  • Proven experience shipping games on multiple platforms such as PC, console and mobile.
  • Proficiency in C++.
  • Strong data structures and algorithm skills with a firm understanding of linear algebra, statistical methods, and design patterns.
  • Strong knowledge of software engineering practices.
  • Expert-level understanding of networked gameplay, physics and animation.
  • Broad understanding of performance optimization techniques for a client-server architecture, including but not limited to memory management, multiple processor use, and runtime optimization.
  • Extensive experience with games, including action, TPS, and online titles.
  • Ability to foster a strong team culture with an emphasis on core company values.
  • Proven ability to grow, guide, inspire, and lead engineering teams.
  • Ability to direct, collaborate, and speak critically on all aspects of technical development, art, gameplay, and content creation.
  • Proficient in both written and oral communication with technical and non-technical developers.
  • Extraordinary self-motivation and initiative.
  • Exceptional management and communication skills.
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