Software Architect, Zynga

• Zynga is looking for a client architect in the Austin, San Mateo, or Toronto areas, and more specifically, someone whose level of experience should be equivalent to an Architect
• We need a self-driven and motivated architect who is a strong leader, communicator, works well as a team player and under pressure, and can assist with building resilient, stable and performant front-end client technology
• To be successful in this role you will have a passion for games, a high level of integrity, great technical depth and skills, and a strong desire to build successful software
• B.Sc. in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent education / work experience
• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with at least 5 years focused on the Unity engine in a senior, lead, or architectural role
• Expert proficiency in C# and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles, with a deep understanding of design patterns (e.g., MVC, MVVM) and how to apply them effectively in a Unity context
• Extensive experience with Unity's core systems: UI (uGUI/UIToolkit), Profiling tools, AssetBundles/Addressables, Animation, and Shaders/Rendering Pipelines (URP/HDRP)
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing scalable, performant client network architectures for real-time multiplayer or live-service applications
• Solid understanding of software testing methodologies (unit testing, integration testing) and experience incorporating them into the development pipeline
• Extensive experience with client error reporting and logging (Bugsnag, Splunk, or equivalents), and best practices for gathering client telemetry and prioritizing issues
• Proficiency with version control systems (Git) and collaborative development workflows (branching, merging)
• Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders in a highly collaborative environment
• Prior game development experience (shipped titles or live games experience)
• Self-motivated, self-directed, with proven experience researching, developing, and optimizing for a variety of platforms

Desirable

• We have a well-rounded and tight-knit distributed team with a healthy mix of engineering skill levels, and are looking to expand our team to tackle a variety of new tasks and challenges that we face
• The candidate would have an opportunity to work on user-facing gameplay features, core engine functionality, and have a general focus on solving complex and challenging problems for high profile titles
• Architectural Leadership: Define and own the client application's technical architecture, including code structure, systems, data flow, and state management
• Technical Design & Strategy: Translate high-level product and feature requirements into clear, technical designs and actionable development plans, ensuring the solution is efficient, stable, and maintainable
• Performance and Optimization: Establish and enforce best practices for performance optimization, framerate, asset management, memory usage, and loading times across target platforms (e.g., iOS, Android, Steam, Web)
• Code Quality & Standards: Establish coding standards, conduct thorough code reviews, and mentor other engineers on advanced programming patterns
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with backend engineers, designers, artists, QA, and product managers to ensure client-side solutions integrate seamlessly with other services and meet creative/functional requirements
• Tooling & Pipeline: Evaluate and recommend third-party tools, plugins, and internal development workflow improvements to enhance team productivity and the quality of the final product
• Troubleshooting: Act as the final point of technical escalation for complex client-side bugs, performance bottlenecks, and systems integration issues
• Planning & Execution: Scope out very large tasks and systems, and coordinate the delegation of that work; Lead month long efforts and participate in planning for quarter long efforts
• Evangelism & Mentorship: Give team and/or divisional tech talks on architectures that you’ve built; Work to identify and help to improve team and process inefficiencies; Help mentor and interview other engineers