Role Overview
As a Lead Programmer, you will lead and motivate a team of programmers while taking responsibility for key areas of a project's technical design and delivery. You will also work closely with designers, artists, and producers to translate design goals into practical, scalable technical solutions.
You will be hands-on and technically engaged, guiding your team through problem-solving, code reviews, and mentoring while contributing directly to core systems. You will help define and drive engineering standards, encourage innovation, and ensure your team's success through effective leadership, clear communication, and technical excellence.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor a team of programmers, fostering a positive, growth-oriented environment through effective team management, 1-1s, and appraisals.
- Manage technical design and implementation for assigned areas of the project, ensuring quality, performance, and stability.
- Work closely with other leads and disciplines to translate design goals into practical, scalable technical solutions.
- Contribute to coding, debugging, and performance optimisation - leading from the front when challenges arise.
- Conduct code reviews and provide technical guidance to the team.
- Drive improvements in workflows, tools, and pipelines, and roll out best practices to the team.
- Collaborate with Technical Directors, Producers and all disciplines on project planning, milestones, and risk management.
- Support recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of programmers.
- Promote and uphold studio standards for code quality, architecture, and documentation.
- Roll up your sleeves and actively contribute to development, demonstrating technical ownership.
Required Skills and Experience- 10+ years of professional programming experience in game development using C++ and/or C#.
- Proven experience leading teams on shipped titles.
- Deep understanding of Unreal and/or Unity engines.
- Strong understanding of software architecture, design patterns, technical design, and debugging techniques.
- Skilled with Perforce and Git for version control.
- Excellent communication, mentorship, and problem-solving skills.
- Experience shipping games on consoles, including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Switch.
- Solid understanding of agile production methodologies and tools, including Jira.
- Strong organisational skills to manage multiple responsibilities and delegate effectively.
- An ability and desire to quickly learn and use any unfamiliar technologies used on our projects.
Desirable Experience- Experience with bespoke C++ engines.
- Experience with instilling good documentation standards using Confluence or similar.
- Experience with backend systems such as PlayFab, Nakama, or similar.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines such as TeamCity or similar.
- Experience with additional programming languages, including Python, Typescript, PowerShell, and Lua.
- Understanding of live ops, online systems, and multiplayer architecture.
- Interest or experience with generative AI technologies.
About Third Kind GamesThird Kind Games - a Virtuos Studio - is a world-class co-development studio founded in 2016 by a team of nine former Activision veterans. We are over 120 strong across the UK, working with major industry partners such as Blizzard, Amazon, and Microsoft. As a studio, we work on many co-development projects simultaneously - everything from feature development, to remasters, platform ports, and full game development services across PC, console and mobile. Our studio is driven by creativity and technical curiosity, and we love building an open, collaborative environment where everyone can excel.
Why Join UsAt Third Kind Games, we believe the best games are made by teams who feel valued, trusted, and inspired. Our inclusive culture emphasises work-life balance, collaboration, and continuous learning. As a Third Kinder, you will join a diverse and supportive team, working on high-profile projects while helping set new standards in creativity and technical excellence.
