Senior Programmer

Senior Programmer

Permanent full-time on-site in Wellington, NZ – 32 hours per week – $90,000 - $110,000  based on experience. International applicants are welcome to apply, but must keep in mind the visa requirements for immigration.

We're Dinosaur Polo Club, an award-winning video game studio of thirty lovely people making games in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.

At Dinosaur Polo Club we value a healthy work-life balance where our dinos can flourish both inside and outside of the studio. We have a creative team, opportunities for growth, and a wholesome, supportive studio environment.

We value diversity and believe that our team should be as varied and wonderful as the people who play our games all around the world. Differences such as disabilities, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity and any other aspects of various cultures and identities are important perspectives that contribute to an inclusive, well-rounded, and engaging work environment. We know we’re creating better games when we have varied perspectives and experiences contributing to them. Women, LGBTQ+ community, Māori and Pasifika  – we want to hear from you! 

About the Role

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced programmer to step into Live Ops on Mini Motorways. We’re looking for someone with several years of experience as a professional programmer, someone who would be comfortable jumping into an established codebase. The work is highly collaborative, meaning that you’ll be working closely with the rest of the programming team and our other departments, frequently performing code reviews and providing feedback.

What you’ll do in this role:

• Design and implement systems existing game titles with minimal supervision.
• Regularly take part in code reviews, both offering and responding to feedback from your peers.
• Help to support junior and intermediate programmers, offering guidance and coaching where necessary.
• Nurture a close working relationship with your department and wider team, liaising with the other departments to ensure robust understanding of implementation requirements.
• Work alongside our community management and QA departments to coordinate builds, bug tracking, and our player support processes.
• Work alongside others to define and improve the studio’s workflow, tools, and technical direction.
• Share knowledge, recommend best practices, and support the development of other team members.
• Be a part of both a department and studio team, actively seeking to develop a method of communicating that is understandable to those outside of your immediate department.

The skills and experience we're looking for:

• 5+ years working in a programming role in games or software development.
• Confidence and experience with Unity and C#.
• Demonstrated experience working through different stages of a project lifecycle.
• Fantastic organisational skills, with a high level of initiative.
• Experience and ability to support and mentor other members of the team.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, fluent in English.
• An interest in developing unique and high-quality video games.
• Dedication to working in a professional, inclusive, and supportive environment.
• Experience with Git and Python tools would be beneficial, but not required.

If you think you meet 60% of the requirements please consider putting in an application! We are keen to hear from candidates looking to stretch into a Senior role as well as established Senior developers.

What we can offer you:

• A lovely bunch of skilled and enthusiastic team members for you to work alongside.
• Generous training allowance for things such as conferences, workshops, online courses and self-directed learning.
• Dedicated training days.
• A four day work week - no Mondays!
• Support structure including regular one-on-ones.
• Team activities such as a pot-luck lunch, movie nights at the studio, holiday functions and more.
• Healthy snacks, yummy treats, and close proximity to some of Wellington’s best eateries! Plus an impressive array of locally made tea and coffee.
• Quarterly personal discretionary wellness allowance.
• Quarterly bonuses based on studio performance.
• Monthly workplace massages.
• Flexible workplace with core hours and optional work-from-home days.

Keen to apply?

If this strikes you as an exciting opportunity, click the button below and submit a CV and a cover letter outlining why you feel this would be the role for you. This position is permanent, full-time and on-site in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand so you’ll either be living in Wellington or be willing to relocate. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

If there is anything we can do to allow for easier participation in the interview process, please reach out to our recruitment partner at Kin, Jamie Edmunson, on jamie.edmundson@kin.co.nz