Lead Backend Engineer (Unannounced project)

Does the challenge of working on a new AAA unannounced project excite you? Here at DPS Games you can do exactly that. We are based in Guildford, self-publishing our own title, and are fully funded by Wargaming, one of the biggest publishers of FTP games in the world.
Our studio leadership are industry veterans, and we believe were building a great studio culture in the best studio space in Guildford. If you think you have the talent to join a world class team, wed love you to join us!
The role will be focused on maintaining a high-quality backend of a free-to-play Unreal Engine based game. This will involve working closely with all disciplines and leading the backend team to identify, design, implement and maintain the scalable backend services capable of supporting millions of players.
Reports to
You will report to the Technical Director.
What will you do?

Lead technical direction. Set/adjust technical vision for the backend systems, including decisions on tech stack, frameworks, libraries, and tools

Promote the use of coding best practices, including clean code, SOLID principles, design patterns, and efficient system designs. Perform code reviews

Ensure scalability and performance, handle scaling challenges, optimize development, deployment, and operations processes

Manage the backend team includingcareer development, performance reviews, 1-2-1s, mentoring, training, and recruiting

Work closely with other team leads, producers and project managers

Expertise in designing large-scale distributed systems for gaming platforms, particularly those involving real-time multiplayer, microservices, and high-availability infrastructure

Extensive knowledge of game-specific architectures (microservices, actor systems), ability to design efficient, low-latency data exchange systems between clients and servers

Experience in promoting effective development processes, fostering collaboration, adherence to clean code practices, test-driven development

Extensive programming experience as a principal or above (Kotlin, Java, Python, C/C++, C#)

Deep understanding of RDBMS, NoSQL databases

Experience with cloud infrastructures to manage large-scale game services. Experience in using Docker, Kubernetes, and other containerization/orchestration tools

Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like Terraform, and ensuring automated deployment and scaling of game backends

Effective communication skills to collaborate effectively with other teams, including game designers, game and systems programmers, producers, and project managers

Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, ensuring that business needs are translated into scalable technical solutions while aligning technical direction with product goals

What additional skills will help you stand out?

Experience working with highly distributed teams

Experience operating a live free-to-play game service

Experience with Unreal Engine

Benefits and perks are tailored to the local market and culture. Our benefits in Guildford include:

5 weeks of Annual Leave per calendar year
Dog-friendly office
Onsite canteen (with an endless supply of snacks and drinks)
Video game areas
Health Insurance (including family coverage), Life Insurance, Pension contribution
Mental well-being program (iFeel)
Wellbeing perks (Mental Health Days, Dedicated Well-being room, Team of Mental Heath First Aiders)
Career development and education opportunities within the company
Employee discounts
Personal Gaming Account
Company events
Seniority Awards
Referral program - you can recommend the best talents to the Company and receive a reward
Working in one of the main European hubs for game development
Startup within a company with 25 years of experience on the market
To learn more about our studio in Guildford, follow this link: https://dpsgames.com/studio

Please submit your CV in English to ensure smooth processing and review.
About Wargaming
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus. Operating since 1998, Wargaming has become one of the leaders in the gaming industry with 15 offices worldwide, including studios in Chicago, Prague, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Vilnius. Our diverse and multicultural team works together to deliver a top-class experience to millions of players who enjoy Wargaming's titles across all major gaming platforms. Our flagship products include free-to-play hits World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Tanks Blitz.
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