Technical Director, Unannounced Title

2 Weeks ago • 10-10 Years

About the job

Summary_{By Outscal}

PeopleFun seeks a seasoned Technical Director to lead the development of a new casual mobile game. Strong technical leadership, experience building game prototypes, and a passion for creating engaging player experiences are essential.

PeopleFun is an award-winning creator of mobile games for players across the globe. We are part of AppLovin, a publicly traded company, with world-class projects, resources, and infrastructure. PeopleFun is a Dallas-based game studio founded and led by game industry veterans, where game developers thrive on collaboration, creativity, teamwork, and fun. Our games are played by over 25 million players each month, and we have a number of exciting mobile games in development to fuel the future growth of PeopleFun.

We believe in bringing People together through Fun by creating the best in class social features and communities in our games that enables our players to engage deeply with other players. Secondly we endeavor to bring our studio teammates together by creating the very best game teams that foster healthy collaboration, incredible productivity, and life-long professional relationships.

Candidates who reside or will reside in the following locations are eligible for this role: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington State.

Job Summary

PeopleFun is seeking an experienced and highly skilled Technical Director to lead the development of a new casual mobile game currently in pre-production. As the technical leader, you will play a pivotal role in architecting and building prototypes that validate game concepts and shape the future of our project. You will collaborate closely with a cross-functional leadership team to ensure technical excellence and alignment with our team’s vision.

This position requires a strategic leader who is not only adept at guiding and mentoring the engineering team but is also passionate about rolling up their sleeves to contribute directly to the codebase. Balancing high-level technical direction with hands-on development will be crucial in driving the project’s success from conception through launch. Qualified candidates must also have the ability to manage priorities, assess tradeoffs, mitigate risks, and deliver high-quality solutions in a dynamic environment. Once out of pre-production, this leader will build a best-in-class engineering team aligned with the specific needs of our game.

Responsibilities

Drive technology initiatives and establish best practices that align / support business goals and product roadmap(s), filling technical gaps as needed.
Define team standards, high-level technical direction, tools and engineering best practices to increase team efficiency, velocity, and stability throughout each release.
Mentor team members in their short and long term career goals, aiming to develop & grow each engineer to the ‘next level’.Lead architecture discussions and planning sessions with a cross-functional team.
Manage 3rd party tools & technology, consolidating the existing stack, evaluating new tools & informing “build vs. buy” decisions.
Design scalable, maintainable, and efficient systems for mobile game development.
Build rapid prototypes to validate game concepts and core gameplay mechanics.
Transition prototypes into production-ready code as the project progresses.
Manage priorities, assess trade-offs, and mitigate risks to ensure on-time delivery of committed projects.
Collaborate closely with game designers, artists, and product managers to align technical solutions with business goals and player needs.
Proactively communicate status, risks, and offer mitigation strategies to our cross-functional team.
Identify and resolve complex technical challenges.
Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends to uphold high quality engineering standards.
Ensure high standards of code quality through code reviews, testing, and documentation as needed.
Advocate for and implement engineering initiatives that can directly lead to product growth.
Once out of pre-production, build and manage a best-in-class engineering organization.
Work within an agile development environment, adapting to evolving requirements and priorities.

Requirements

10+ years of professional experience within the mobile gaming industry, with casual, F2P experience preferred.
Expertise in object-oriented programming, design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.
Prior experience leading architecture discussions.
Deep understanding of application logic and architecture, especially within Unity or similar game engines.
Proficiency in full-stack development with competency in mobile game optimization techniques.
Demonstrated ability to manage priorities, assess trade-offs, and mitigate risks effectively.
Proven track record of delivering projects on time and within scope.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Prior experience building strong relationships with stakeholders, including the proactive communication of project status, risks, and mitigation strategies to the team.
Deep knowledge of the casual mobile gaming market and a passion for creating engaging player experiences.

PeopleFun provides a competitive total compensation package with a pay for performance rewards approach. The expected base pay range for this [CA based or North America based] position is $170,000 - $225,000. Base compensation at PeopleFun is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Depending on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical and other benefits.

Benefits

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

Performance Bonuses

401K Match Policy

Flexible PTO Policy

Wellness Stipend

Free Lunch each Friday

Generous Parental Leave & Family-Friendly Culture

Annual Credits for Professional Development & In-App Purchases

PeopleFun is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about EEO rights as an applicant here.

$170.0K - $225.0K/yr (Outscal est.)

$197.5K/yr avg.

United States