Lead Developer

Listed
February 1, 2023
Location:
Remote (New Zealand and Australia)
Job type:
Full Time
Duration:
Permanant

2UP Games Limited

At 2UP Games, we bring new game experiences to a massive audience.

We’re an “AI-empowered games studio”. We make mobile games, using the most game-changing tech since the original iPhone. We’re excited about unleashing Generative AI to:

  1. Deliver fresh takes and whole new categories of games that were not possible a year ago.
  2. Amplify the creativity of our team. As an AI-empowered 10-person team, we are equipped to compete with teams 10x the size.

Our current project is a social drawing and guessing game, where players’ drawings magically come to life, thanks to the power of AI image generation. We’re on a journey to become the studio best placed to make “the next big game” on mobile, using cutting-edge tech, the best craft, and the best team. Are you up for it?

We’re a team of eight game-making veterans. We have employees from Magic Leap, Space Ape, Millipede, PikPok and more!  We’re always looking for talented and experienced people to join the mission. We have a heritage of making cooperative games for mobile, such as Highfive Heroes.

We’re a remote-first studio, backed by Supercell. We offer the adventure of a startup, with the backing of the biggest name in mobile games. 

Job Description – Lead Developer

Help guide a small team with big dreams and high velocity. Work with motivated peers on creativity-empowering technology. Split your time between helping other developers, and writing code.

Responsibilities

  • Lead our programming team. Take responsibility for team output and wellbeing. Give direction to help the development team be productive and happy.
  • Make big-picture decisions about architecture, backend infrastructure, data structures and code organisation. Understand requirements, think through implications and make the calls.
  • Collaborate closely with our technical co-founder and experienced team. Communicate and document clearly.
  • Write code! Get your hands dirty with implementation challenges from gameplay refinement to SDK integration.
  • Unlock productivity with powerful tools and simple pipelines. Learn to unleash AI technology as a creative multiplier for the team.
  • Empower peers. Give support and advice born of experience. Understand each team member’s strengths and empower them to shine.
  • Get creative: suggest, refine, and elaborate on the creative ideas that make our games special. We all have a voice in the games we make.

Requirements

  • 8+ years of professional programming experience
  • 3+ years of working on mobile games
  • Experience leading a team — small or large
  • You have the right to work in New Zealand or Australia

Bonus Points

  • 3+ years working with Unity
  • Experience with generative AI and machine learning (even as an enthusiastic hobbyist!)
  • 3+ years working in teams sized 3-10
  • Experience working in a structured Agile environment, such as Agile Scrum or Kanban
  • Experience in a live service environment with a persistent backend. Even better: you have coded full-stack yourself, from client right through to server and persistence layer.
  • Literacy in mobile gameplay and progression systems

Founding Employees

You’ll be a founding employee. What does this mean?

  • You’re excited about the brave new world of generative AI. You may not know much about it (yet!), but you’re excited by the creative possibilities.
  • You’ll model and improve our employee values. Have a look at them (below) and see if they sit right with you.
  • You’ll be invested in improving your studio. And you’ll want to share the upside when things go right for the company – ask us for more info on equity options.
  • You’ll help us improve our remote-working model. We want this to be the place where we do the best work of our careers. How can you help?
  • You’ll see boring health and safety statements and raise a wry smile. But seriously, please do take care of your home office environment. You’ll get a budget to ensure you have great gear. Use it, align it, and your body will thank you for it in your retirement. Any questions, just ask.

Work Hours

This is a startup, does that mean I’ll work crazy hours?

We want the team to be happy and productive for the long haul. We balance a sensible baseline with the occasional need to push hard.

  • Baseline of 40 hours per week. 
  • Some flexibility when you work the hours within a week. 
  • Occasional surges around milestone releases. 
  • Once a game is released - rostered time “on call” to respond if there are problems.

Employee Values

These values describe how we aim to work at 2UP Games. 

  • We’re Considerate. We’re trying to do something hard, together. Take the time to help your co-workers achieve their dreams. Collaborate compassionately, critique respectfully, and listen deeply.
  • We’re Motivated. We are pioneers, motivated from within. We work to support everyone’s productivity. And we never lose sight of the goal: shipping our games to millions of delighted players.
  • We’re Individuals. Find the awesome—your way. Bring yourself to work: your strengths, your quirks, and your ways of getting things done. Be your best self, no one else.

Apply

Drop us a line on team@2up.games. Please include your CV, why you’re interested in the job, and a link to your portfolio.

Sound like you? Send your CV through to us: team@2up.games