R&D Group Leader

5 Months ago • 8 Years + • Product Management

Job Summary

Job Description

As the R&D Group Leader at Papaya, you'll lead multiple development teams (30+ professionals) in the Platform Division, overseeing large-scale projects and ensuring high-quality, scalable solutions for mobile games. Responsibilities include defining and driving the technical roadmap, participating in architectural decisions, mentoring team leads, managing the full development lifecycle, implementing agile methodologies, and facilitating cross-functional collaboration. You will need proven experience leading R&D teams in mobile gaming, strong technical skills (backend, real-time systems, cloud services), and excellent leadership and team-building abilities. The role requires a deep understanding of mobile game architecture, database systems, and agile development practices.
Must have:
  • 8+ years software development experience
  • 5+ years in leadership role managing teams
  • Mobile gaming or similar tech industry experience
  • Expertise in backend infrastructure, real-time systems, and cloud services
  • Strong leadership & team management skills
  • Agile methodologies and development best practices
Good to have:
  • Experience with Node.js, Java, or C#
  • Knowledge of AWS
  • Experience with microservices

Job Details

Description

Get ready to join the action at Papaya, one of the world's fastest-growing mobile game powerhouses! We're all about delivering fun and excitement to millions of players across our diverse range of games.

As the R&D Group Leader in the Platform Division, you will oversee multiple development teams, manage large-scale projects, and ensure the delivery of high-quality, scalable solutions. You will collaborate closely with product, Analytics, and Art teams to shape the company’s technical strategy and Product roadmap. This senior leadership role requires hands-on technical expertise, Smart Execution capabilities, and strong team management skills.

The company is HQ in the heart of Tel Aviv.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership:

  • Define and drive the roadmap in alignment with business objectives.
  • Participate in high-level architectural decisions and code reviews, ensuring adherence to best practices and coding standards.
  • Provide guidance and mentorship to team leads and senior developers on complex technical challenges.

Team Management & Development:

  • Lead and mentor an R&D group as part of our Platform engineering domain with more than 30 R&D professionals across multiple teams, including team leaders, Engineers, QA engineers, tech-art, and DevOps.
  • Facilitate cross-functional collaboration and communication, ensuring alignment between R&D and other Platform departments, mainly product and Analytics. 
  • Manage and take an active role in leading people processes: recruitment, onboarding, feedback and performance evaluations, ensuring the team is motivated and growing.

Project Delivery & Execution:

  • Oversee the full development lifecycle of mobile game projects from concept to launch, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery.
  • Implement agile methodologies and development best practices to optimize project workflows, increase velocity and enhance team productivity.
  • Monitor project progress, address bottlenecks, and mitigate risks to maintain smooth execution.

Requirements

  • 8+ years of software development experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role managing multiple teams and managers
  • Proven track record of leading R&D teams in the mobile gaming or a similar tech industry.

Education

  • B.Sc./M.Sc. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.

Technical Skills:

  • Proven ability to design and oversee complex technical architectures, including backend infrastructure, real-time systems, cloud services, and microservices for scalable mobile games.
  • Knowledge of database systems, caching strategies, and data pipelines, (AWS preferred)
  • Strong proficiency in relevant programming languages (e.g. Node.js, Java, C#) 

Leadership Skills:

  • Strong capability to coach and develop team members at various levels, from junior engineers to engineering managers, fostering both technical growth and career advancement.
  • Track record of building a positive, inclusive, and motivating team culture that emphasizes collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement.

Strategic Thinking and Innovation

  • Experience evaluating new technologies and frameworks that can enhance the player experience, improve team productivity, or optimize game performance.

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About The Company

Since 2019, Papaya has been committed to shaping the future of gaming through an innovative and forward-thinking approach to game development. We believe that gaming should be about more than just luck, which is why our games are designed to reward skill, strategy, and perseverance. 


Ranked by Dun’s 100 as one of the top 50 hi-tech companies in Israel to work for.

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