Principal Software Engineer, Zynga
Server - Hit It Rich!
Social game developer
Open for applications
Social game developer
1001+ employees
Open for applications
1001+ employees
Company mission
To connect the world through games.
Role
Who you are
- B.Sc. in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent education / work experience
- 6+ Years of backend software development experience
- Expert knowledge in PHP or a similar programming language
- Experience with cloud computing (preferably AWS)
- Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms and software methodologies
- Excellent communication skills and comfort working in a collaborative environment
Desirable
- Prior game development experience (on shipped titles or live games experience)
- Mobile development experience with a focus on iOS and/or Android
- Experience in Javascript, Go, or similar programming languages
- Experience with Source Control like git
What the job involves
- The candidate would have an opportunity to work on critical game components that contribute to user-facing features, gameplay functionality, existing functionality & systems, and have a general focus on solving challenging problems for high profile titles
- Define, architect, & develop features and gameplay functionality in PHP
- Develop & integrate new technologies and tools (working with content teams)
- Dive into the internals of core systems to extend them as-needed
- Proactively optimize code & memory for high performance simulations with tight constraints
- Scope out large tasks and systems with minimal direction, and help with delegation of that work
- Work closely with other engineers to lead multi-week or month-long efforts
- 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 to mentor other engineers
Our take
Zynga is a games developer that rode Facebook's platform to success back in the late noughties and early 2010's. It is now one of the biggest casual game producers globally, with a presence across 175 countries and regions and over 80 million monthly active users.
Though the company hit a number of roadblocks after its initial success - such as falling stock prices, and numerous calls it was copying other games - its subsequent resurgence is proof of its staying power. It continues to use social media as a distribution channel, and boasts titles such as FarmVille, Merge Dragons! and Words With Friends.
Future success will lie in the company's continued investment in building viral games that people love. It will also need to attune to the social media waves and keep track of where users can be found, as the landscape has become more mobile. Notable recent activity includes a collaboration with BBC Earth ahead of 2024's Earth day, and grant to develop actionable push notifications that enable gameplay without entering the application.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Few candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Mar 2011
$490m
SERIES C
Oct 2010
$6.3m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $865.5m
Company benefits
- COMPENSATION - Performance bonuses, opportunities for equity participation & retirement/pension savings support
- HEALTH - Medical, dental & vision covered for employees, with participation for employees eligible dependents, plus disability and life insurance program
- FAMILY - Generous parental leave for birth parents, partners and adoptive families, plus Infertility support, emergency child care and flexible time-off policies
- WELLNESS - Gym benefits, wellness programs, employee assistance programs and generous time-off policies
- FOOD - Food and snacks made in-house or delivered, healthy snack kitchens with drinks and treats, coffee bars, regular social gatherings and happy hours
- WORK & LIFE - Flexible time-off policies (DTO), office rest areas, gaming spaces, employee discounts and more
- TRANSIT BENEFITS - Shuttle service in select locations, commuter/parking benefits, secure bicycle storage, business travel assistance
- RESOURCE GROUPS - Women at Zynga (WAZ), zCares charitable giving, zParents, zEndurance adventure club, BZU, zPride LGBTQ+ inclusion and belonging
Company HQ
SoMa, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Mark Pincus
(Chairman)Previously founder and CEO of Freeloader, Supportsoft and Tribe.net, an early social network
Michael Luxton
(Co-founder)Previously an engineer at NetApp
Salary benchmarks
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