Senior Game Programmer

• Help us develop breath-taking games across a variety of platforms within Wētā Workshop’s Interactive division.
• Fun, collaborative team that looks out for each other.
• Full-time role with flexible work-life balance arrangements.

 Specialists in creating rich worlds of wonder and telling immersive stories. For over 30 years, Wētā Workshop has been pushing the boundaries, earning multiple awards for our ground-breaking work in film and games. Based in Wellington, NZ we work with the biggest names in the entertainment industry to deliver unforgettable experiences to our fans the world over.

 As a Senior Programmer, you will be reporting to our Lead Game Programmer and working in conjunction with the rest of the Interactive division to build delightful games to captivate our fans. Your first assignment will be helping to flesh out the core systems of our current game project, which is set in Middle-earth, and different to any other Middle-earth title on the market!

What will you be doing?

• Collaborating with other programmers in generating high-quality, fit-for-purpose systems for stakeholders, while striving to increase team-wide velocity.
• Work with designers, artists, and other content creators to design and implement robust, accessible development toolsets based on existing and future requirements.
• Leading the development of core game features and building robust game systems code.
• Developing in fast, iterative cycles to prototype gameplay loops and mechanics.
• Working within a cross-disciplinary team to conceptualise and create adaptive and scalable gameplay systems.
• Writing tools to improve the dev cycle of the studio.
• Assisting with defining and improving development pipelines and processes.
• Supporting optimisation, bug fixing and finalising efforts for our game projects.
• Assist with training and mentoring your team members, including code reviews.

What we’re looking for from you?

• Significant games industry experience, preferably with multiple shipped projects in a programming role.
• Extensive experience with Unity game engine and its quirks.
• Deep working knowledge of one or more common game systems such as networking, AI, databases, or analytics.
• Familiarity with one or more industry-standard source control systems.
• Leadership, in mentoring junior staff and/or being a thought leader in various strategic studio-wide initiatives or concerns.
• Experience with Agile, particularly the aims of self-governance and continuous process improvement.
• What we are really looking for are people like you, with life experiences like yours. We want our studio to reflect the diverse society we live in. For this role, you will of course be writing code. However, you will also be participating in our studio as a human, with other humans. We all have our strengths and weaknesses – ours will complement yours and you will bring something unique to the team.

What we can offer you

• Flexible working arrangements so you can work in a way that’s best for you and create a work-life balance.
• Our studio is dog friendly, so feel free to bring them along. We can assure you they’ll get lots of pats to keep them happy.
• Each Friday we have a social get together in the late afternoon. We also have social events throughout the year.
• Professional development opportunities so you can continue to grow and blossom.
• Dedicated management focused on your growth.
• Free fruit and coffee, including a variety of milks to cater for all dietary preferences.

Our Culture

• Our vision is to be a successful global arts and entertainment company ... making imaginary worlds a reality.
• Our core values are: creativity, courage, community, kindness, excellence and kotahitanga
• We’re a fun, collaborative team, who look out for and support one another. As a creative business, we know that inspiration is achieved by working with people who have a range of experiences and perspectives. We strive to create a culture of belonging, where our team members feel welcome, supported and diversity is celebrated. After all, games are for everyone.

Sound like you?

If you think you meet 60% of the requirements – we encourage you to apply now – we are reviewing applications as they come in!

To find out more information, please contact recruitment@wetaworkshop.co.nz

You must have the right to live and work in NZ to apply for this job.

Successful applicants require a satisfactory Ministry of Justice Criminal Convictions check