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Experienced Game Programmer for scientific experiments on cooperation New

8666/10778/346095

COOLNET, TU Dublin

£57,897.00 - £66,016.00 Per Annum

Dublin, Ireland

Ireland

Programming

ASAP

01/06/2026

Lead-Principal

Temporary | Full Time

No

Applications should be done within the TU Dublin portal , with Vacancy ID 043423, before June 22nd, 2026.

Environmental challenges can only be solved through global cooperation. You can help by developing a game where thousands of players will find fun and meaning while contributing to research on society’s hardest challenge. Are you ready to build a cutting-edge multiplayer game where creativity meets scientific goals?

Project vision

The ambition of the COOLNET project is to fill a critical data gap in behavioral science by creating an industry-level game as a large-scale human behavior laboratory. Players will engage in repeated social dilemmas comparable to those from the game theory scientific literature. Their choices in these dilemmas will constitute experimental data on what favors the emergence of cooperation. Data from thousands of subjects/online players will allow us to assess hypotheses unreachable with in-person experiments.

Your role

You will develop the multiplayer game and technical infrastructure of the COOLNET project in Unity. Your role will span gameplay programming, networking, online infrastructure, and management of in-person and online deployment. You will contribute to translating scientific and design requirements into scalable and maintainable game systems.

Duties

Key Duties

  • Develop and maintain the game in Unity to reach a MVP in 6 months; this  includes the multiplayer system, UI systems, gameplay implementation, and refactoring.
  • Support the technical organization of local experiments, including deploying a LAN multiplayer infrastructure.
  • Scale the project toward massively multiplayer participation by building an online multiplayer infrastructure, including servers, backend integration, and telemetry pipelines.
  • Collaborate with the game designer and external contractors (such as artists) on rapid prototyping, feature iteration, and software architecture.
  • Contribute to technical documentation and development workflows.

Secondary Duties

  • Participate to the game design through feedback and iterations.
  • Contribute to telemetry, analytics, and data collection systems.
  • Participate in workshops and dissemination activities related to gamification and cooperation research.
  • Contribute to the recruitment and supervision of junior professionals.

Skills

Essential

  • At least 4 years’ professional experience developing video games.
  • Strong proficiency with Unity and C#, as well as git version control.
  • Demonstrated experience with online (large-scale) multiplayer game architectures, including with client-server systems and backend integration.

Desirable

  • Strong software engineering and debugging practices, including with UI/UX.
  • Demonstrated ability for agile, autonomous and collaborative work in small multidisciplinary teams.
  • Experience with large-scale multiplayer infrastructure such as live-service systems, cloud databases, or telemetry systems.
  • Experience with LAN deployments, live playtests, or experimental setups.
  • Interest in serious games, behavioral science, or research-oriented applications.
  • Portfolio including at least one published multiplayer or online game.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and academic disciplines.
  • Ability to balance player experience, technical constraints, and scientific requirements.

Conditions

Work environment

The COOLNET project is part of the SOHAM Centre for the Sociology Of Humans And Machines, a joint initiative between Technological University Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

The successful candidate will work closely with the project leader (PI), a game designer, a PhD researcher, and external collaborators in art and UX/UI.

The SOHAM Centre is a vibrant, inclusive, and interdisciplinary environment, with opportunities to collaborate with Dublin’s academic, research, and technology ecosystem.

Duration

The position is for 2 years full-time equivalent (FTE).

The preferred arrangement is 1 year full-time, followed by 2 years at 50% time; though other arrangements can be considered.

Pay

Grade 6 of TU Dublin salary scales (€57,897– € 66,016 gross).

Homeworking

Part-time homeworking (maximum 2-3 days per week) is possible. Residence should be in Dublin.

Application

Applications should be done within the TU Dublin portal, with Vacancy ID 043423.

Application deadline is 5pm (UTC+1) on Monday, June 22nd, 2026.

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be provided with an early and basic game prototype in Unity. They will be required, before the 45min interview, to improve on this prototype and propose a plan for its scaling to an online massively multiplayer game.

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