Lead Programmer – 12 Month Contract

d3t is at the forefront of videogame technology and creativity, delivering experienced co-development services to some of the biggest AAA clients in the world. Our studio, part of the global Keywords Studios Group, works on multiple exciting projects at any one time, offering plenty of variety and involvement.

Our studio projects have included EA SPORTS FC™ 26, Hogwarts Legacy, Exoborne, Mafia: The Old Country, Alan Wake Remastered, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Vampire The Masquerade – Blood Hunt, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, and Assetto Corsa Competizione. We also work in partnership with our global clients including: Playground Games, EA and Archetype Entertainment.

The d3t studios are based near Daresbury (Cheshire), Newcastle (Tyne & Wear) and Madrid where we offer an amazingly professional and supportive working environment. We are passionate about what we do and pride ourselves on our anti-crunch mentality, mentoring ethos and have been awarded ‘Best Places to Work’ multiple times by gamesindustry.biz. In addition, we won ‘Best Creative Service Provider’ at Develop 2022 and were nominated in 2023 & 2024.

THE ROLE - Lead Programmer – 12 Month Contract

The Programming Team is expanding and this exciting opportunity for a Lead Programmer will be a 12-month fixed term contract, based in either of our UK studio sites (Daresbury or Newcastle), on a hybrid working basis. The working pattern is 3 days per week in the studio: Wednesday, Thursday and another day of your choice.

A Lead Programmer at d3t plays a key role in the engineering department, being the programming lead and point of contact both internally and externally with our clients on each of our outsourcing development projects. They help to foster high coding standards, processes and career development within our engineering team, as well as being hands-on in the development and planning of the work we deliver on AAA titles with our high-profile, global clients.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leading your engineering team to meet their goals, with motivation, positivity, enthusiasm, leading by example & active listening.
• Line managing engineers to foster career progression and enable them to reach their full potential.
• Setting high standards of communication, collaboration and coding skills and standards from your team and your direct reports.
• Collaborating with international clients often as our main engineering point of contact for projects.
• Being part of mixed discipline teams working together to deliver features on time. 
• Technical planning and delegating.
• Variety of projects and programming specialisms available in gameplay, core tech, porting, low level architecture on multiple platforms.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

• Experience: 7+ years
• Languages: C++ expertise
• Leadership: Has led and managed engineers
• Dependability: Can work autonomously, flexibly, proactively and positively
• Knowledge: Low level systems (e.g. physics, networking, memory, animation etc.)
• Technology: Experienced with game engines, IDEs, source control, build infrastructure
• Growth: Continually expands knowledge base and skill set
• Communication: Able to clearly discuss road maps, updates, risks and solutions with multiple disciplines including non technical developers and clients.

DESIRABLE SKILLS:

It would be great, but not essential, if you have experience in any of the following:

• Multiple programming languages and engines 
• Released games
• Porting games
• Tools development
• Rendering experience
• Build and infrastructure
• Low level console development

TEAMMATES:

Hear from our Director of Technology (previously Technical Director) Lyndon Jones on his experiences at d3t and from our Head of Engineering (previously Lead Programmer) Sarah Newell by clicking below:

STUDIO BENEFITS & PERKS:

• 25 days holiday (+ bank holidays & up to 5 days extra for length of service)
• Company Pension Scheme
• Flexible working hours
• Private Medical Insurance Scheme (including dental) – BUPA
• Eye Care Scheme
• Anti-crunch ethos – a professional, fun and supportive working environment!
• Income Protection
• Discretionary Annual Bonus
• Free Parking
• Tech, Bike + Console Scheme
• Company Socials, Monthly Lunches & Annual d3t Events
• Breakout Areas – filled with perks such as games, BBQ area, complimentary snacks to suit all dietary preferences etc.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Interviews will be held by video call.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Not a problem – please apply. At d3t we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace and culture. If this opportunity excites you but your current skills or past experience don’t align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to still apply. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles within our team.

At d3t we work flexibly, but value in-person collaboration: this position is offered on a hybrid basis only at either of our UK sites (3 days per week in the studio: Wednesday, Thursday and another day of your choice). We value work/life balance and have a discretionary flexible hours system and operate a no-crunch policy as a studio.

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PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY

d3t is strongly committed to protecting your personal information. By sending your CV/Resume, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and consent to your data being managed and retained in accordance with our data privacy and retention policy.

We will keep your personal details on file for 6 months and they will not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being retained. If you prefer that your personal details are not retained then please advise.