// Open Role at Keywords Studios
Join d3t as a Lead Programmer on a 12-month contract, driving engineering excellence and client collaboration on AAA titles. Lead a talented team, foster high coding standards, and contribute to diverse projects in a supportive, anti-crunch environment.
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.
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THE ROLE - LEAD PROGRAMMER**
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.
Requirements
Essential Skills + Experience
· 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 + Experience
· Multiple programming languages and engines
· Released games
· Porting games
· Tools development
· Rendering experience
· Build and infrastructure
· Low level console development
https://d3tltd.com/spotlight-sarah-newell-lead-programmer/
https://d3tltd.com/lyndon-jones-technical-director-celebrates-ten-years-at-d3t/
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.
Benefits
d3t Studio Benefits & Perks - alongside a great studio work environment
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.
7+ years of programming experience; Expertise in C++; Proven experience leading and managing engineers; Strong knowledge of low-level systems (physics, networking, memory, animation); Proficiency with game engines, IDEs, source control, and build infrastructure; Ability to work autonomously, flexibly, and proactively; Excellent communication skills to discuss roadmaps, updates, risks, and solutions with diverse teams and clients.