Location: You’ll be based in our Cambridge studio with the option for hybrid working so being within a commutable distance is essential. If this requires you to relocate to Cambridge, we offer visa sponsorship and relocation assistance. Level: Senior or aboveAbout us: Ninja Theory is a six-time BAFTA award winning games company based in Cambridge, UK, and part of Xbox Game Studios. Our diverse and welcoming team values collaboration, quality, and excellence. We strive to maintain an inclusive culture that empowers deep focus, rewards creativity, and supports personal and professional growth.Our Mission is: To Craft Life-changing Art with Game-changing Tech and we are committed to bringing together the best talent in the industry help us fulfil that promise. Our Values: Greatness through Excellence, Teamwork & Integrity. Your Role: As a senior member of our gameplay programming team, you’ll play a critical role in building gameplay systems that directly impact the player experience. You will work closely with designers and other disciplines to turn creative intent into robust, scalable and maintainable gameplay features, while assisting and providing technical leadership within the gameplay areas. You will:Design, implement, and maintain core gameplay systems and features from concept to shipCollaborate closely with game designers to support rapid iteration and gameplay tuningOwn complex gameplay features, ensuring code quality, performance and long-term maintainabilityContribute to gameplay architecture and technical direction, identifying risks and proposing pragmatic solutionsInvestigate, debug and resolve complex cross-discipline gameplay issuesReview code, mentor other gameplay programmers, and sharing knowledge of systems you write and use, helping to raise the overall code standardsWork effectively with director and production to balance technical quality, scope and delivery timelinesRequirementsYour Role: As a senior member of our gameplay programming team, you’ll play a critical role in building gameplay systems that directly impact the player experience. You will work closely with designers and other disciplines to turn creative intent into robust, scalable and maintainable gameplay features, while assisting and providing technical leadership within the gameplay areas. You will:Design, implement, and maintain core gameplay systems and features from concept to shipCollaborate closely with game designers to support rapid iteration and gameplay tuningOwn complex gameplay features, ensuring code quality, performance and long-term maintainabilityContribute to gameplay architecture and technical direction, identifying risks and proposing pragmatic solutionsInvestigate, debug and resolve complex cross-discipline gameplay issuesReview code, mentor other gameplay programmers, and sharing knowledge of systems you write and use, helping to raise the overall code standardsWork effectively with director and production to balance technical quality, scope and delivery timelinesRequirementsWe believe that skills and experience are not mutually exclusive. For that reason, we encourage you to apply even if you feel you don't meet 100% of the desirable requirements listed below.Your Skill: You’ll bring engineering fundamentals, a pragmatic approach to problem-solving and the ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines. You will have:Essential: Passion for games and games programmingA good working knowledge of C++A good knowledge on software architecture and design patternsThe ability to collaborate with a wide range of disciplinesThe ability to plan, own, develop and maintain gameplay systems/featuresThe ability to investigate and resolve complex gameplay issuesClear and effective communication with both technical and non-technical team membersYour Experience: You’ll have a proven track record of delivering gameplay features in production environments and contributing at a senior level within programming teams.Essential: Education to at least degree level, or equivalent knowledge, in any relevant subjectProfessional programming experience in a similar or related roleOwned one or more gameplay specific areas (e.g. character movement, camera, combat)Desirable: Experience in systems creation and maintenance in Unreal Engine 5Experience in Combat related systems creation and maintenance BenefitsOur Benefits: We offer wide-ranging benefits, including, but not limited to:Hybrid, flexible work model with no fixed working hours.5 weeks holiday plus 1 additional day for each year of service up to a maximum of 33 days per annum, plus bank holidays.Enhanced family leave.Bonus scheme.Annual wellbeing allowance.Private healthcare including medical, dental, and optical cover.Mentoring and career development.Income protection. Life Insurance.Where applicable, relocation assistance and visa sponsorship. Working from Ninja House, you will benefit from our custom-built studio which offers a luxurious setting with cutting-edge facilities at your fingertips, including full motion capture stage. You’ll also receive complimentary catered lunch from our on-site pub, The Bird or Worm? Our Process: To ensure a fair and inclusive hiring process which aligns to our studio equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) strategy, we use anonymised screening which automatically obscures personal identifying information from applications, helping to reduce unconscious bias from the start.Where possible, we kindly ask that you submit anonymised reels/portfolios to support our ED&I commitments.This is a fantastic opportunity to join a BAFTA Award winning studio in the Xbox Game Studios Group and be part of pushing the boundaries of interactive entertainmentPlease note, this advert closes on Sunday 8th February 2026.
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