JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: Principal Unity Software Engineer Team: SystemsReporting into: Lead ProducerHybrid preferred, 1-2 days on-site, UK Remote possible
Studio OverviewWe are Sports Interactive 🎮 The gaming studio behind: ⚽ Football Manager. Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever-growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms. To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.
Position OverviewWe are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Principal Software Engineer to join our development team. You are an expert in C# and Unity, with an exceptional ability to architect and implement efficient, scalable, reusable, and maintainable systems across multiple areas of the game. These include, but are not limited to: addressables, package management, data binding, UI and UI systems, and general system and editor tooling that support our games and their features and functionality. You will set and evolve engineering standards and own key architectural decisions; and you will work closely with engineering leads and other engineering teams, as well as with design, production, QA and other stakeholders across the studio deliver high-quality player experiences on desktop, console and mobile.You combine deep Unity and C# expertise with strong systems thinking, enabling you to break down complex problems, define pragmatic solutions, and mentor engineers to raise the bar across the studio. Your contributions will directly shape and steer the technical foundations and player-facing experience of Football Manager, helping deliver intuitive, performant, and engaging games to our global player base.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESDefine, communicate and evolve the Unity and C# architectural vision and standards for the studio; ensure alignment across multiple teams and products. Own and drive cross-team technical initiatives that improve performance, maintainability, stability, iteration speed and flexibility across Unity projects and platforms. Work hands-on in C# and Unity to design and implement complex and scalable systems and tools that underpin our games and development workflows. Lead investigations into complex technical issues and guide teams in profiling, performance, memory usage, garbage collection, async programming, etc.Champion a performance and stability culture: establish measurements and workflows to identify and eliminate bottlenecks. Set the benchmark for code quality, testing strategies and documentation; embed practices that reduce defects and repeat work. Work closely with engineering leads and stakeholders across disciplines to shape technical roadmaps, unblock delivery and mitigate risk early. Influence planning and long-term architecture decisions; contribute strategic technical insight to roadmap discussions. Coach and mentor engineers at all levels; provide code and design reviews, pair coding and technical guidance (without line-management responsibilities).Contribute to recruitment, onboarding and processes to grow Unity expertise across the studio. Drive the development of editor tooling and automation that enhances productivity and streamlines content integration across engineering, art and design.KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCEExtensive professional experience delivering complex but clean, portable and maintainable systems in Unity and C# at scale in video games, with multiple shipped titles across desktop, console and/or mobile.Track record of owning architecture, systems and tooling in Unity and C#.Deep proficiency with Unity profiling, optimisation and crash analysis, with a strong understanding of performance, memory management, garbage collection and async programming.Strong software engineering fundamentals: design patterns, testing strategies, code review and documentation.Ability to influence and align cross-functional stakeholders; excellent written and spoken communication skills.Experience with Unity’s UI Toolkit is beneficial but not essential.Familiarity with C++ is beneficial, particularly in contexts where Unity interfaces with native modules, but not essential.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to technical challenges.Self-motivated with a commitment to continuous improvement and team support.Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to team-wide technical growth.Knowledge of Football Manager is beneficial; interest in football is a plus.Benefits of Working at Sports InteractiveA flexible working policy to best suit you and your team. 🏠 Subsidised mental health, therapy and coaching sessions are available. 😌 Contributory Pension Scheme (up to 7% of annual salary). 🏦 Free onsite evening bar in the Sports Interactive London HQ. 🍹 A well-stocked breakfast bar with cereals, fruits, teas, and coffees. 🥣 Regular events in collaboration with our partnered football clubs. 🏟️ Access to our on-site physical and massage therapist services. 💆 Multiple clubs and societies to join e.g., book club and art workshops. 🫶 Free access to games released under the SEGA Europe umbrella. 🕹️ A range of Gym Membership options through our Benefits partners. 🏋️ Fully Subsidised Healthcare and Dental Plans. 🦷 Free Travel Insurance for yourself and your family. ✈️ A personalized football shirt upon passing probation. 👕
What is it like to work here?We approach everything with passion, whether that is making our mark on the gaming and football industries or doing our bit for the world around us. We want to share that outlook with everyone who shows up to work here each day.For us, talent wins games, but teamwork wins titles. Collaboration is the key to constantly topping our best. We believe everyone matters, no matter which part of the business you are in, so we encourage and support our people in driving your own growth and realising your full potential. But, more than anything else, we are a team. A team with a down-to-earth dynamic, that has a lot of fun doing what we do. And whether that’s technical tweaks or fine-tuning our creative process, everything is geared at producing the best game possible for our players. To do that, we need to be tenacious and move quickly, and not be afraid of switching things up. It is these principles that have enabled us to produce a game that has defined year after year, and that will continue to push us for many more to come. Our flexible working culture gives you the opportunity to optimise your workload, with in-office, hybrid, and remote working options dependent on role. So, if you want a work/life balance, we are behind you.Because while we live to create extraordinary games, we know that is not all you have got going on. You can trust that we always keep things in perspective, fostering an environment where work can be more than just a job.We’re also a London Living Wage employer, boast one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry and are proud to have won the ‘Best Places to Work’ award by Gamesindustry.biz in large company category in 2023.We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from any relevant candidate irrespective of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief. SI is proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer, and we are dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. Our studio has disabled access and facilities but please ensure you advise us if you require any other reasonable adjustments to be made to support you during the recruitment process.
Our Values:Keep collaborating: Teamwork wins titles - Here, ideas belong to everyone, whatever department you’re part of. Collaboration lets us score more as a team than we could individually.Be flexible: We think fast and adapt faster. The football and entertainment worlds never stand still, so we keep progressing and switching things up to stay ahead.Stay Tenacious: We don’t overlook the details. Everything we do is about producing the best game possible, in other words, never settle.Show Ambition: Let your drive lead the way - Your individual outlook can give everyone the edge. Make the studio’s purpose personal and let your drive lead the way.Bring the Passion: Have fun doing your thing - Don’t be fooled, what we do is not a game. Making our players’ passion come to life is our passion.Consider the Bigger Picture: Keep things in perspective - We want our impact to be a positive one. From built-in work/life balance to initiatives covering the most important topics of today, we have what matters in focus.
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