At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage the development pipeline and ensure seamless game deployments.
- Company: Join Pixel Toys, a leading mobile gaming studio in Leamington Spa.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, 25 days leave, private medical insurance, and more!
- Other info: Collaborative culture with regular socials and wellness days to keep you refreshed.
- Why this job: Be part of an innovative team creating award-winning games and shaping the future of mobile gaming.
- Qualifications: Experience in release management and strong technical skills in version control systems.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
Based in the heart of Leamington Spa, Pixel Toys have spent over a decade pushing the capabilities of mobile gaming. We have developed multiple award-winning titles and we’re now excited to be exclusively working on a new game, unlike ANYTHING we’ve done previously! As a forward-thinking and innovative studio, we are always looking for new technologies and techniques to develop and use in our games and make them even more engaging experiences for our customers. We are excited to continue to grow our team and are always on the lookout for highly talented and motivated individuals who are passionate about gaming and excited to join us on our ambitious journey!
The Role:
Working alongside our current Release Manager, act as the technical "air traffic controller" for our entire development pipeline! In this critical role, you will deeply embed yourself with the engineering and product teams to understand exactly what is being delivered in every release cycle, managing complex code and branch merges to ensure that our client, server, data, and live operations deployments remain predictable, stable, and seamless. As the primary gatekeeper for version control, you will orchestrate merges across multiple development branches to prevent conflicts and regression, keeping a sharp eye on build health and ensuring our main deployment branches remain absolutely stable.
You will strategically plan and coordinate with Production to schedule game updates, patches, hotfixes, and live ops content into a flexible, living release calendar that can adapt to both planned and unplanned changes. Through shepherding new features smoothly through the workflow, you will help guide them from initial scope lock all the way through QA approvals, platform submission, and post-release care while communicating daily priorities and branch dependencies to the wider game team.
On the deployment front, you will be responsible for overseeing storefront operations for both iOS and Android platforms via App Store Connect and the Google Play Developer Console, tracking live client and server rollouts alongside player-impacting telemetry to guarantee absolute stability. Technical risks or blockers won't stand in your way. Instead, you will proactively identify and mitigate them, participating actively in critical go/no-go decisions before major milestones. If deployment issues arise, you will confidently coordinate rollback or hotfix plans to minimise player impact, subsequently leading postmortems to translate incident learnings into documented, automated, or refined release processes that continuously improve our deployment pipeline.
About you:
Join Pixel Toys as a seasoned deployment specialist with proven experience as a Release Manager, Deployment Manager, or Technical Project Manager working on live-service and free-to-play mobile games. Possessing a robust technical foundation in version control systems like Git and Perforce, with a sophisticated understanding of complex branching strategies, merge tracking, and dependency management. Your platform expertise features hands-on experience with build orchestration and automation tools, CI/CD pipelines, TestFlight, and the direct management of submissions via App Store Connect and the Google Play Developer Console.
Beyond your logistical expertise, you are an autonomous self-starter with a proactive mindset, capable of confidently diving deep into technical specifications, speaking the same language as our engineering teams, and extracting exactly what is required for each build. You will also be an exceptional cross-functional communicator who excels at bridging the gap between highly technical issues and high-level business goals, smoothly translating complex merge challenges into clear, actionable risks for producers and product managers alike.
What can Pixel Toys offer:
At Pixel Toys, we are proud of the progressive, inclusive, and collaborative working environment we have created; a place where everyone has the opportunity to be themselves and is welcomed and valued for who they are and what they contribute. We have some fantastic benefits we offer our employees… Here are just some of them:
- Competitive salary, reviewed annually
- 25 days annual leave, excluding bank holidays
- Discretionary Bonus Scheme
- Up to 3 additional long service days (duvet days!)
- Private Medical Insurance (including optical and dental)
- Company Pension scheme
- Death in Service benefit
- Regular socials including epic summer and Christmas parties!
- Staff training and development
- Quarterly Wellness days (On-site massages and more)
- Flexi-time working hours
Recruitment selection is based on skills, experience and a good Pixel Toys mission and values fit.
Release and Deployment Manager employer: Pixel Toys
At Pixel Toys, located in the vibrant Leamington Spa, we pride ourselves on being an innovative and forward-thinking studio in the gaming industry. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our regular training and development opportunities, alongside a supportive work culture that encourages creativity and collaboration. With competitive salaries, generous annual leave, and exciting social events, we offer a rewarding environment for passionate individuals eager to make their mark in mobile gaming.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Release and Deployment Manager
✨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 Pixel Toys 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 Pixel Toys.
✨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 Pixel Toys.
✨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 Pixel Toys 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 Release and Deployment Manager
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 Pixel Toys.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Pixel Toys 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 Pixel Toys
✨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 Pixel Toys 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.
