At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead game development for innovative mental health apps using Unreal Engine and Unity.
- Company: Join BFB Labs, a pioneering digital health company transforming youth mental health.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, 28 days leave, remote work flexibility, and a vibrant team culture.
- Other info: Dynamic hybrid work environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on young people's mental health while developing engaging games.
- Qualifications: 3+ years in game development, expertise in Unreal Engine, and mentoring skills.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 60000 £ per year.
Location: Hybrid/Remote, London
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent
Company: BFB Labs
About BFB Labs
At BFB Labs, we build pioneering digital health products and evidence-based games that transform youth mental health. Our flagship app, Lumi Nova, along with our wider portfolio, blends engaging gameplay with clinical efficacy to empower children and young people to self-manage their mental health.
We are looking for an experienced Lead Game Developer to shape our technical architecture, drive continuous delivery across app stores, and keep our apps stable and performant—balancing new feature development with bug fixes to continuously improve stability, player engagement, and clinical outcomes.
The Role
As our Lead Game Developer, you will sit at the heart of our technical execution. You will drive front-end and back-end game development, lead app store release pipelines across multiple platforms, and partner closely with our Full-Stack developer to integrate secure analytics and cloud architecture. Beyond hands-on development, you will serve as a technical mentor for our mid-level developer, establishing robust coding standards, conducting peer reviews, and ensuring our therapeutic mobile apps are optimised, maintainable, and technically robust.
Key Responsibilities
- Core Game Development: Lead end-to-end client and server-side game feature development across iOS, Android, and tablet platforms.
- Architecture & Mentorship: Own codebase architecture, enforce high-quality coding standards, conduct constructive PR reviews, and actively mentor mid-level game developers.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with our Full-Stack Developer to connect front-end game loops with our AWS backend architecture, securing data persistence and analytics routing.
- Release & Build Pipeline Management: Maintain and optimise our automated build pipelines across Jenkins, GitHub, Bitbucket, Plastic SCM, and Jira.
- App Store Submissions: Oversee the submission lifecycle, compliance checks, and updates for the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon Appstore.
- Optimisation & Performance: Drive best practices for device profiling, memory management, frame-rate stabilisation, and performance across diverse mobile hardware profiles.
Required Skills & Experience
- Senior Leadership: 3+ years of experience in a Senior or Lead Game Developer role, with a proven track record of managing and mentoring other engineers.
- Primary Engine Expertise (Unreal Engine): Advanced proficiency in Unreal Engine, including deep hands-on expertise with both C++ and Blueprints.
- Secondary Engine Flexibility: Familiarity with Unity (C#) and a strong willingness and ability to jump between both engines as project needs evolve.
- Mobile & Tablet Deployment: Extensive experience building, profiling, optimising, and releasing commercial games on iOS, Android, and Amazon mobile environments.
- App Store Mastery: Up-to-date knowledge of current guidelines, submission workflows, and technical policies for Apple, Google, and Amazon stores.
- Version Control & CI/CD: Hands-on experience working with Plastic SCM, Git/GitHub/Bitbucket, Jira, and configuring automated builds with Jenkins.
- Full-Stack & Data Integration: Proven ability to work alongside backend teams to integrate APIs, save data states, and route gameplay analytics.
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience designing accessible UI/UX systems (e.g., screen reader compatibility, colourblind accessibility, customisable UI scales).
- Experience with automated unit testing frameworks within Unreal Engine or Unity.
What We Offer
- Salary: £50,000 – £60,000 per annum (Dependent on experience)
- Purpose-Driven Work: The code you write and oversee will directly support young people going through clinical mental health pathways.
- Great Perks: 28 days of annual leave (plus bank holidays) which we usually top off with a discretionary extra 3 days off over the Christmas period so you can fully recharge. 1 extra day annual leave for every year you're with us (up to 5 additional days). Access to the company pension scheme. Flexibility to work remotely for up to one week twice a year (taken as separate sessions).
Hybrid Flexibility: Work from our fantastic co-working space in Farringdon (Central London) 3 days a week, with the remainder remote. We value flexibility and are open to discussing individual productive arrangements.
A Vibrant Culture: Join a diverse, inclusive, and multi-award-winning team during an exciting early-stage growth phase. We are looking for the right person to start ASAP. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Our Interview Process
- Screening: An initial call via Google Meet to ensure a mutual fit.
- Technical Task: A practical exercise designed to let your engineering logic shine.
- In-Person Interview: A final interview held at our Farringdon office space. We maintain a strict and high level of confidentiality for all applicants.
Lead Game Developer (Unreal Engine / Unity) in London employer: BFB Labs
BFB Labs is an exceptional employer that champions innovation and creativity in the digital marketing space, particularly within the youth mental health sector. Our hybrid work culture promotes flexibility and collaboration, while our commitment to employee growth ensures you will have access to valuable training and development opportunities. Join us in London to make a meaningful impact on young lives through engaging campaigns and a supportive team environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Game Developer (Unreal Engine / Unity) in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at BFB Labs or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to BFB Labs.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like BFB Labs.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like BFB Labs that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Game Developer (Unreal Engine / Unity) in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at BFB Labs.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at BFB Labs and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at BFB Labs
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If BFB Labs uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
