Senior Software Engineer GDK in Manchester

Gaming: Welcome to the world of land-based gaming. At Light & Wonder, it’s all about the games, and our Gaming team builds cutting-edge technology, products, and content for the most iconic casinos and operators across the globe.

Position Summary

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be a key contributor to the development of our next-generation cross-platform core game framework, used to power hundreds of games across online, mobile and desktop platforms. You will focus on creating robust, maintainable solutions whilst working collaboratively with a highly skilled team of developers.

We’re looking for people who are full of ideas, want to challenge the norm and work to our core values:

• Dare to be Bold - We always bring courage to work to reach for the unbelievable.
• Uphold Integrity - We promote accountability and respect to raise the bar for ourselves and the industry.
• Never Settle - We relentlessly push forward to create the extraordinary in every detail.
• Celebrate Perspectives - We combine diverse talent to look at the familiar in unfamiliar ways.
• Win as a Team - We bring out the best in each other to share collective success.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop Quality Solutions: Deliver clean, maintainable code for the core game framework, ensuring it supports web, mobile, and land-based casino platforms. When needed, identify and address genuine performance bottlenecks, occasionally working across multiple languages or native modules to resolve them.
• Work Autonomously: Take ownership of assigned tasks, managing them independently whilst ensuring they meet performance and quality standards.
• Contribute to Designs: Participate in design discussions, providing architectural input to improve framework features and capabilities.
• Resolve Challenges: Apply critical thinking skills to address complex technical problems, balancing speed with quality in a cross-platform, component-based environment.
• Support Collaboration: Collaborate closely with team members, QA, and platform-specific developers to align solutions and ensure a cohesive development process.
• Maintain Technical Excellence: Adhere to coding standards and best practices, contributing to the overall quality of the core framework. Write clean, maintainable code with clear architecture that scales across diverse platforms.
• Stay Informed: Keep up to date with gaming and technology trends, applying relevant insights to enhance the framework and support diverse platform requirements.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Professional Software Engineering: Significant experience of professional software engineering experience delivering robust, maintainable solutions in complex technical environments.
• Architectural Thinking: Proven experience designing and implementing scalable, maintainable systems. Understanding of component-based architecture, separation of concerns, and framework design patterns.
• Programming Expertise: Strong proficiency in at least one object-oriented language (TypeScript, C#, C++, etc.) with the ability to quickly learn new languages and paradigms as needed. Demonstrated experience working across multiple codebases and technology stacks.
• Game Engine Knowledge: Direct, hands-on experience with modern game engines (Unreal, Unity, or equivalent platforms) and understanding of how engines work internally.
• Cross-Platform Development: Proven ability to deliver solutions for web, mobile and land-based casino platforms, with understanding of platform-specific constraints and optimization strategies.
• Performance Optimisation: Familiar with memory management, load time improvements, profiling tools and debugging across multiple platforms.
• Collaboration Skills: Effective communicator with experience working in cross-functional teams. Comfortable articulating technical decisions and working with non-technical stakeholders.
• Agile Mindset: Comfortable working in a flexible, adaptive environment, utilising agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) as needed. Able to identify and apply the right approach and tools for the project phase whilst supporting the team.

Desirable:

• Game Development Experience: Background in game development, understanding of game engines, development lifecycle, and platform-specific considerations.
• Gambling Industry Domain Knowledge: Prior experience in casino gaming, iGaming, or regulated gaming environments. Understanding of compliance, jurisdiction-specific requirements, and player lifecycle in gaming products.
• Web Development Expertise: Knowledge of modern web technologies (JavaScript/TypeScript, WebGL, canvas optimisation) and experience shipping games or interactive experiences on web platforms.
• Mobile Development Expertise: Practical knowledge of mobile development processes and performance optimisation for Android and iOS platforms.
• Graphics Programming Knowledge: Experience with 2D and 3D graphics programming, rendering pipelines, and shader optimization—valuable for understanding engine-level performance beyond abstractions.
• Build Tooling & DevOps: Experience with modern build systems, CI/CD pipelines, and development toolchains. Familiarity with extending game engines through native modules or SDKs is a plus.
• Interest in Innovation: Enthusiasm for exploring emerging technologies in the gaming industry and their application to solving real-world gaming challenges.

KPIs for the Role:

• Feature Delivery: Successfully implement and deliver assigned tasks, meeting agreed-upon deadlines and quality standards.
• Code Quality: Maintain high coding standards through peer reviews and testing, ensuring minimal defects.
• Cross-Platform Success: Contribute to features that perform well across web, mobile and land-based casino platforms.
• Collaboration Impact: Build strong working relationships with immediate team members and platform-specific colleagues.
• Autonomy: Demonstrate the ability to manage tasks independently and resolve challenges with minimal oversight.
• Learning and Growth: Demonstrate continuous growth and curiosity. Apply new technical or industry insights to your work, staying ahead of gaming trends and platform innovations.

Qualifications

Please note that this role is based in our Manchester studio and you will be expected to attend the office at least 3 days a week.

Please note, we are unable to sponsor visas at this time. If you require visa sponsorship now or in the future we will not be able to progress with your application.

This job description should not be interpreted as all-inclusive; it is intended to identify major responsibilities and requirements of the job. The employee in this position may be requested to perform other job-related tasks and responsibilities than those stated above.

Why Join Us:

• Impact: You will help shape an innovative cross-platform game framework, integral to hundreds of gaming titles across mobile, web, and land-based platforms.
• Innovative Environment: Work in a fast-paced, tech-driven environment where your contributions will directly impact on the success of the business.
• Discretionary Annual performance bonus
• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (3 days in the office)
• 1 day paid leave to work on charitable projects
• 1 day paid for personal celebration e.g. birthdays
• Half Day for Health (encouraging you to take time away for you & your wellbeing)
• Up to 8% employer pension contributions
• A reward platform offering a cycle to work scheme and shopping and lifestyle discounts/cashback
• Wellbeing benefits including Private Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance and Aviva DigiCare
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Optional benefits such as Tastecard, Give As You Earn and Travel Ticket Loan.

Light & Wonder are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage applications from all walks of life regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy.