Game Technical Director

Remote

About the Job

You are a passionate gamer who enjoys deep diving into new technologies and the business model. You are a team player and have strong communications and leadership skills. You are experienced in systems design and are familiar with game engines such as Unity 3D or Unreal Engine. You are a big fan of Clean Code and software design patterns. You relax by reading tech journals and sketching UML diagrams. You are a lifelong learner who is results-driven and detail-oriented. Most of all, you are looking for a friendly working environment filled with like-minded individuals at a studio that prizes integrity, transparency and personal growth. Pocket Pinata Interactive is a Vancouver mobile game development studio practising the art and science of making free-to-play games. We are looking for like minded individuals to join our cause as a full-time Game Technical Director.

As technical director, you are responsible for the technical aspects of a project development. You are a problem solver and the lead advisor on all technical matters and will engage with multiple teams and disciplines to address all technical issues. In pre-production, you are involved in the technical planning and judge the technical feasibility of strategies. You determine the project technical requirements by analysing the design and art requirements. In production, you supervise the systems designs, monitor the budget, and manage the overall code quality.

Perks:

Good extended health and dental plan.
Flexible work schedule.
Option to work-from-home (some restrictions apply).
Studio conveniently located next to the a Skytrain line.

You will:

Understand the business problems to be solved, and provide technical direction around the definition and technical delivery of projects.
Establish the technical vision for project systems, architectures, deliverables, and environment.
Identify technical requirements and tools to deliver on the project vision.
Identify the technical expertise needed based on the project vision.
Define the technical estimates for projects, and involve other discipline leads where appropriate.
Serve as the standard escalation point for the project management team for any project technical risks, costs, and duration.
Evaluate proofs-of-concept for emerging technologies and approaches for the project software development.
Ensure quality of all technical outputs meets client and studio expectations.
Collaborate with project management to ensure the technical team meets schedules, budget, manpower and technical quality targets; this includes third party technical teams and IT departments.
Identify new opportunities in day-to-day communication and communicate them to the project team.
Define, communicate and enforce necessary standards and regulatory compliances, particularly in relation to security and privacy.
Recommend suitable technologies and approaches to improve technical software development standards.
Report technical progress of projects to stakeholders as required.
Track industry developments and best practices in software and development technologies on a regular basis.
Adhere and promote the studio culture, values, and processes/systems including time and activity tracking.

You are a great fit for our team if you have…

4+ years of industry game development experience.
2+ years of industry experience with Unity 3D or Unreal Engine.
2+ years of C# programming experience or other object-oriented programming language.
2+ years experience applying Clean Code principles to your code.
1+ years of system/project technical leadership experience.
Experience working with UML.
Experience troubleshooting Android and/or IOS specific game issues.
Experience developing and optimising scenes or game systems for performance in Unity 3D or Unreal Engine.
Experience with Git or other revision control system.
Excellent technical problem-solving and communication skills.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
Proactive and forward thinking lifelong learner able to quickly familiarise yourself with complex legacy systems and code.
A detail-oriented mindset with a strong ability to multitask.

Having the following skills is a plus…

A degree in Computer Science or related field.
Experience with standard industry performance and memory profiling systems.
Experience with RESTful networking and JSON solutions.
Experience with Python and RESTful server programming.
Knowledgeable on Agile Development Practices (Scrum/Kanban).