Principal Software Engineer, Platform Services

Who We Are

Second Dinner is an award-winning independent game development studio that is here to make the most fun games in the world. Not super fun games. Not SUPER DUPER fun games. We mean the MOST fun games. In fact, our game MARVEL SNAP has earned multiple Mobile Game of the Year Awards (Game Awards, DICE), Best Strategy Game (IGN), and the Apple Design Award for Innovation!

Second Dinner is a remote-first studio, so while we are headquartered in Irvine, California, most of our team is fully remote across the United States. We want the most talented teammates wherever they call home. A diverse team with varied perspectives makes us a better company and will help us make better games. If you can bring something new to the table and expand our point of view, that's a huge upside. 

Our Platform Services team:

At Second Dinner, platform services are the backbone of our ability to deliver robust and seamless game experiences to millions of players worldwide. The Platform Services team builds and maintains infrastructure so game teams can focus on crafting the most fun and engaging player experiences possible! By ensuring a secure and robust technology backbone, we lay the foundation that enables player experience and trust for critical services such as managing accounts and in-app-purchases.

Your Role:

You will report to the Head of Platform Technology, and your primary responsibility is to lead the design, development, and operation of our global platform services. You will guide the team to build and maintain a highly available, secure, and scalable technology backbone that supports our games’ critical systems. You will help advance our engineering practices by championing best practices in automation, security, and observability. You will lead efforts to integrate and optimize platform services across various app stores, ensuring seamless account management, payment processing, and compliance. If you are a hands-on technical leader who loves building top-tier platform engineering teams, crafting innovative infrastructure solutions, and collaborating with extraordinary cross-functional teams to create unforgettable gaming experiences, then APPLY!!!

What You’ll Do:

• Collaborate with central tech and SNAP leadership to align platform service technical strategies with publishing goals and business objectives

• Partner with the SNAP team to implement and integrate platform services, such as authentication, accounts, payment processing, and compliance management across App Store, Google Play, and Steam

• Ensure seamless functionality through rigorous testing, collaborative development, and adherence to platform-specific requirements

• Architect and implement highly available, multi-region infrastructure to support global publishing services

• Design and implement automated CI/CD pipelines for efficient and reliable deployment of publishing services

• Champion security best practices, including IAM, network segmentation, and data encryption, to protect critical systems and player data

• Lead the design and implementation of observability frameworks to ensure the reliability and performance of publishing services

• Manage and mentor senior engineers and influence the technical direction of the publishing platform

What You’ll Need:

• Extensive experience operating large-scale backend services in AWS or other cloud infrastructures

• Proven expertise in deploying and operating cloud-native applications using Infrastructure as Code tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi)

• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Go, or similar for building backend systems and automation tools

• Deep experience with backend systems for authentication, payment processing, and compliance

• Strong expertise in cloud security and secure application development

• Hands-on experience with monitoring, logging, and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack)

• Proven ability to troubleshoot live service issues and implement sustainable solutions

• Outstanding technical and personal communication skills, including the ability to articulate a technological vision and align it with business needs

• A collaborative mindset and a supportive, team-oriented attitude

Nice to Have, but Not Necessary:

• Experience with game publishing technologies like Firebase, RevenueCat, or AppsFlyer

• Familiarity with compliance frameworks like GDPR, CCPA, and their technical implementations

• Experience of serverless architectures and their application in cloud environments

• Experience with container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes and Docker

This role is pivotal in driving the success of our publisher transition, ensuring a scalable, secure, and innovative platform infrastructure to support our self-publishing goals and deliver exceptional player experiences.

The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $210,000 to $270,000 USD + equity + comprehensive benefits + potential for discretionary performance bonuses.

Individual pay within this salary range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs. The disclosed range is not adjusted based on location and may be subject to change or modification based on business needs in the future. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process.

An overview of the benefits and perks at Second Dinner:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans with Second Dinner paying 100% of premiums for employees and 75% for dependents for many plans

• 401(k) contribution with no waiting period

• 16 weeks paid parental leave with no waiting period

• Home office improvement bonus

• Paid Vacation & Sick time

• Up to 10 BetterHelp sessions covered each benefits plan year

• Company Winter Holiday shutdown (Dec 25-Jan 1)

• Company Summer Holiday shutdown (week of July 4)

• Company Events - In-person Summer all-hands gathering, in-person holiday party, and virtual events throughout the year

We are an equal opportunity employer that places high value on diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, disability status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military status, or veteran status. 

You must be eligible to work in the United States to be considered for this position.

Compensation Range: $210K - $270K