Technical Director, nDreams
Studio Elevation
VR Game Developer and Publisher
Open for applications
VR Game Developer and Publisher
201-500 employees
Open for applications
201-500 employees
Company mission
To deliver boundary-pushing immersion and presence like nothing you have experienced before.
Role
Who you are
- Advanced knowledge of C++ including high-performance programming
- An advanced understanding of several specialist area of game development – for example Gameplay/UX (user experience), Animation, Networking, UI (user interface), Tools, AI (artificial intelligence)
- A baseline comprehension of many other specialist areas of game development, sufficient to plan projects and system interoperability
- A thorough understanding of Unreal Engine’s C++ extensions, game framework and blueprint scripting
- Knowledge of Unreal Engine’s project structure, settings, cook/build systems, and plugin architecture
- Ability to debug the most complex issues with real-time 3D applications, both at a code level and using visual tools
- Fluent in applying 3D math principles to real-time programming – matrices, quaternions, vectors etc
- Ability to profile/optimise code to improve performance
- Good English communication skills with an ability to communicate complex technical information to non-technical staff
- Awareness of their own management style, techniques for managing performance, coaching and mentoring
- Programming in the games industry in a professional context, working on at least three titles that are released on a current-generation console, PC, VR (Virtual Reality) headset or mobile
- Personal responsibility for the technical design, implementation and maintenance of entire game projects, or areas of a large project that required multiple staff to implement
- A leadership role on at least one Unreal Engine 4 or 5 project
- Line-management and recruitment of technical staff
- Planning, roadmapping and reporting progress on technical features for high-quality game projects
- Pragmatism and supportive leadership. You can support a diverse workforce to sustainably deliver their best work, even under challenging circumstances
- Team-focussed. You work toward the best result for the team and business, delegating to or supporting others with their work as appropriate
- Cross-discipline mentality. At Elevation, code is not a siloed discipline, but programmers instead work with design, art, production etc. to empower one another and achieve shared goals. You would be an exemplar and evangelist of this approach
- Manages workload efficiently and sustainably, for yourself and others. You continuously reassess priorities to ensure urgent tasks are tackled promptly and important tasks aren’t neglected. You manage bandwidth concerns to avoid burn-out or underutilisation
- Calm under pressure. You can stay optimistic and professional as project circumstances change, remaining consistent and approachable to the wider team
- Enthusiasm for VR as a technology and industry. You know what makes a great VR game and hold a vision for the future of the medium. You can act as a guardian and evangelist of VR sensibilities, possibilities, and platform innovation
What the job involves
- We’re looking for an exceptionally talented Technical Director to help us explore, create, and deliver world leading innovation in software and VR hardware
- As Technical Director, you will be responsible for setting up the code team and studio for success
- You’ll be structuring, directing and mentoring a diverse team of engineers capable of creating genre-leading titles
- You will be driving high levels of quality through your team, and owning the implementation processes that empower, discover, and refine intuitive and aspirational experiences
- As well as representing and empowering the technology team, you’ll form an integral part of the product owning steering group
- A collective that are responsible for the vision and delivering on the studio’s high level strategic goals
- Oversee technical implementation
- Own the overall architecture for a game project, including middleware, asset pipelines, tools, system interoperability, etc
- Promote efficient development. Identify opportunities for code reuse. Engineer for straightforward reuse in future
- Support an agile, fail fast methodology when discovering and exploring technical solutions
- Balance product quality, performance and development resources
- Plan and estimate effectively
- Evaluate product requirements, raise potential risks, and propose solutions
- Influence high-level product roadmaps, setting suitable technical milestones and gates for development. Input to the studio resourcing plan
- Own and communicate the technical approach for a studio, aligning it with the company-wide strategy
- Direct technical priorities for the studio. Interleave company, studio and project-level priorities
- Give feedback on and influence the business-wide technology strategy. Collaborate with the central Shared Technology group to ensure Elevation is contributing to and benefitting from company-wide development
- Document and communicate information
- Ensure the quality and accuracy of technical documentation for each project and the studio
- Communicate the architecture of game projects, describing how systems interact. Tailor information for technical or non-technical audiences
- Work with the Code Manager to support an effective and scalable programming team
- Empower staff with appropriate context, achievable goals, and honest, timely feedback
- Create scope for senior staff, delegating areas of responsibility and mitigating single points of failure
- Manage and interleave processes and workflows across the studio. Identify blockers and inefficiencies in development and help to solve them
- Encourage collaboration in the programming staff. Instil a truly cross-discipline mentality. Make time for them to exchange information and techniques with other studios and shared nDreams functions
- Act as the hiring manager for technical staff. Conduct interviews, effectively evaluating technical and behavioural competencies. Check bias (self and others) and make balanced hiring decisions
- Mentor Senior and Principal-level staff, helping to expand their scope and influence
Our take
Virtual reality is fundamentally changing the way we work, the entertainment we consume, and more. nDreams is at the forefront of the charge, leading the pack when it comes to the world of virtual reality gaming.
The gaming studios set out to change the way we game, with immersive adventures - both original and working with the IP of other gaming and film studios. One of its most recent games, Phantom: Covert Ops, has won multiple awards; and partnerships with Sony for a Ghostbusters VR game, as well as with Ubisoft for a Far Cry VR game (set in the world of Far Cry 3) speak to the calibre of content they produce.
nDreams looks set to maintain its dominance in the VR space, tipped as the company with the most games in development for PSVR 2. Swedish game developer Aonic acquired nDreams for $110 million in 2023, and in 2025, it went through a restructuring program. This saw the closure of company wings nDreams Orbital and nDreams Studio to make way for a new studio, Compass. These moves indicate an evolution for nDreams, bolstering its position in the exciting and rapidly growing VR gaming market.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Mar 2022
$35m
LATE VC
Jul 2017
$3.7m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $47.3m
Company benefits
- Private healthcare
- Enhanced family policies
- Wellbeing and mental health support
- Opportunities to work abroad
- Two Duvet Days a year and birthdays off
- Death in service cover
- Flexible working
- Funded personal development opportunities
- And much more
Company HQ
Farnborough, UK
Leadership
Patrick O'Luanaigh
(Founder & Chief Executive Officer)Former Director of Tiga, Non-Exec Chairman of VRFocus, Advisory Group Executive at BAFTA VR, and Non-Exec Director of Atom Universe and Velox XR (where they still work).
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