R&D Group Leader

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.

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.

• 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.