Principal Gameplay Programmer

nDreams is seeking an experienced Principal Gameplay Programmer to define and lead the technical vision for gameplay systems. This senior role involves shaping gameplay technology, driving strategic initiatives, and ensuring high standards of quality and innovation. You will collaborate with studio leadership, designers, and engineers to deliver player-centric systems, while also mentoring and inspiring the programming team. The role is permanent, full-time (37.5 hours/week), and fully remote within the UK, with a competitive salary.

Must Have

• Define and own technical vision for gameplay systems.
• Act as feature owner, driving end-to-end delivery.
• Lead development of innovative gameplay features.
• Align gameplay technology with studio strategy.
• Mentor and inspire programmers.
• Ensure scalable, maintainable, high-performance codebases.
• Establish coding standards and best practices.
• Drive cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Expert-level gameplay programming proficiency.
• Proven strategic thinking and technical leadership.
• Experience shipping multiple commercial titles.
• Ability to influence technical direction.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring.
• Passion for high-quality gameplay and player-centric experiences.

Good to Have

• Experience working across multiple platforms.
• VR development experience.
• Prior experience in a principal, lead, or senior technical leadership role.

Perks & Benefits

• Flexible hours
• Duvet days
• Your birthday off
• Dedicated personal development time and support
• Regular socials
• Excellent holiday offering
• Pension scheme
• Health insurance
• Life cover

Description

We are looking for an experienced Principal Gameplay Programmer to define and drive the technical vision for our gameplay systems. In this senior leadership role, you will shape the future of our gameplay technology, lead strategic initiatives, and ensure the highest standards of quality, performance, and innovation across our projects.

You will work closely with studio leadership, designers, and engineers to deliver player-centric gameplay systems while mentoring and inspiring the programming team.

The rundown:

• Permanent role
• Full time (37.5 hours per week)
• Fully remote within the UK
• Salary is competitive and dependent on experience

Key responsibilities:

• Define and own the technical vision for gameplay systems.
• Act as feature owner, working across multiple tasks and stories to drive delivery end-to-end.
• Lead development of innovative, player-focused gameplay features.
• Align gameplay technology with studio strategy and leadership goals.
• Mentor and inspire programmers across all levels.
• Ensure scalable, maintainable, and high-performance codebases.
• Establish coding standards and technical best practices.
• Drive cross-disciplinary collaboration and represent gameplay programming in planning and reviews.

Requirements

The skills you’ll need:

• Expert-level proficiency in gameplay programming.
• Proven strategic thinking and technical leadership skills.
• Experience shipping multiple commercial titles.
• Ability to influence and guide technical direction across teams.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring abilities.
• Passion for high-quality gameplay and player-centric experiences.

The nice to haves:

• Experience working across multiple platforms.
• VR development experience.
• Prior experience in a principal, lead, or senior technical leadership role.

Benefits

We are nDreams – creators of some of the world’s most immersive VR games. You might know us from Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, Synapse, Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked, FRENZIES, Wreckin Racoons, or our latest adventure, Reach. From humble beginnings as an independent studio, we’ve grown into a leading VR developer, combining ambitious projects and global scale with a personal, caring touch.

We believe the best workplaces and games are created by diverse, happy and safe teams. We're committed to building a culture centred on respect, wellbeing and balance. It's crucial we make our games and industry more accessible to underrepresented communities. We strive to live this through the people we hire, the experiences we create and the causes we support.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to bring their best, authentic self to work. Please let us know if you require reasonable adjustments during the interview process by emailing interviewing@ndreams.com or speaking to your nDreams recruiter. For more information about reasonable adjustments, check out this guidance from Scope.

We offer great perks, including flexible hours, duvets days, your birthday off, dedicated personal development time and support, as well as regular socials. Beyond this, there’s an excellent holiday offering, pension scheme, health insurance, life cover and much more.