Technical Director

At Blind Squirrel Games, making great games is only the beginning. Blind Squirrel Games is a proud, independent studio that joins forces with developers and publishers seeking an innovative partner in creating quality games. At BSG, our people are our purpose, so we prioritize an inquisitive, proactive, and collaborative work environment for all our Squirrels. Depending on the needs of the project, we operate as an in person studio, bringing our teams developers together to crush milestone goals and win together.

Technical Director, Auckland, New Zealand

Blind Squirrel Games (BSG) is a proud, independent studio that joins forces with developers and publishers seeking an innovative partner in creating quality games. At BSG, people are our purpose, so we prioritize an inquisitive, proactive, and collaborative work environment for all our squirrels.

Blind Squirrel Games currently has locations in Irvine, California; Austin, Texas; Auckland, New Zealand, and Manizales, Colombia.

Skills and experience are highly valued at BSG, but we recognize that talent is a product of hard-work, resilience, and a growth-mindset. We champion individuals who have demonstrated they have the grit to overcome challenges and subscribe to the notion that inclusion breeds synergy and innovation. To us, diversity isn't a metric—it's a must

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS AT BSG

You've left no stone unturned when it comes to programming and know that the secret to creating great games is by nurturing the talent behind them and giving them the tools to thrive within their own disciplines. As an industry veteran, you are credited in multiple AAA titles in senior roles or above and have a proven track record of building successful foundations and strategies. You are one of the department's top decision-makers when it comes to the creation and amendment of a project's engineering pipeline and the studio looks to your direction to mitigate risks.

Your level of accountability goes beyond feedback and design as you are also responsible for orienting your department's resources, staff, and tools to perform optimally. You are accustomed to maintaining schedules and budgets; keeping yourself abreast of project status, industry trends, and emerging technology; and managing overall team health.

Role and Responsibilities

Blind Squirrel Games (BSG) is looking for a Technical Director to join us in building games systems and technologies using Unreal Engine 4/5 and C++.

Supported by the Director of Engineering and the Director of Tools and Technology, the Technical Director will work alongside a team of talented engineers to rapidly prototype new gameplay features and help develop approved prototypes into fully feature games.

This is a full-time position available to work based out of our Auckland, New Zealand studio location.

**Responsibilities**:

- Lead the technical foundation for the project, including the technical design and implementation of core gameplay systems and ensuring reliability across all platforms.
- Evaluate and propose enhancements to C++ and UE libraries, advocating for changes to enhance user experience and reduce technical debt.
- Review detailed designs, aligning them with the technical vision, and providing technical leadership within the team.
- Provide production and integration support for our partner’s games and services, championing client relationships.
- Serve as the main technical point of contact between BSG and our publisher, and as an expert leader for best practices in Unreal Engine development, contributing to the development of standards and solutions.
- Participate in code reviews, daily scrum meetings, weekly leads meetings, and biweekly sprint retrospectives..
- Manage internal programming leads to help guide their engineering teams towards their goals.
- Develop and implement various features and systems such as gameplay mechanics, AI algorithms, audio processing, networking infrastructure, and other game development systems, scripts, and tools.
- Collaborate with production and team leads for milestone and sprint planning, contributing to project bids and providing technical insight.
- Determine and maintain CPU performance and memory budgets across platforms, assisting with critical technical decisions and debugging complex issues within Unreal Engine.
- Contribute to current and new project bids by offering technical insights and expertise as needed.
- Other relevant duties and responsibilities as assigned to help complete company or department objectives.

Qualifications and Education Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Engineering
- 6+ years of professional experience in game development
- 3+ Years of experience leading and mentoring engineering teams
- At least two shipped titles.

Preferred Skills
- Outstanding communication skills
- Excellent collaboration skills
- Fluent in C/C++
- Expert UE 3, UE4, and UE 5 experience
- Deep understanding of algorithms, data structures, design