Programmer in Royal Leamington Spa

About The Role

Secret Mode is looking for a Gameplay Programmer to join the team and help us in crafting the high calibre games our fans have come to expect. As a Gameplay Programmer, you will be at the heart of our team. You will be responsible for bringing new experiences to our players, whether through expansive new maps and DLC or by implementing the quality‑of‑life improvements that our community values most. You will work across a diverse range of titles and engines, ensuring that gameplay remains fluid, engaging, and technically optimised across all platforms.

Role Overview - key responsibilities

• Work closely with the creative teams to implement compelling gameplay features and systems.
• Take designs from concept to execution, ensuring they are fun, polished, and bug‑free.
• Work on all aspects of systems of the game: engine features, gameplay, UI, audio, animation, scripting, tools.
• Ensure gameplay logic remains consistent across PC, Console, and Mobile when porting titles.
• Adapt input systems, UI layouts, and gameplay balancing to fit the specific technical requirements of each new platform.
• Act as an active participant in the design and production process.
• Be the technical side of the creative team and the first line of feedback for feature feasibility.
• Produce clean and robust code, following all standards and guidelines, including the use of automated testing processes.
• Resolve platform‑specific bugs and performance bottlenecks to ensure a frictionless launch on new hardware.
• Own the planning and development of large bodies of work, with minimal supervision.
• Help scope features and advise on best ways to implement them.

Skills and experience you need

• Proven industry experience as a programmer on one or more console/PC titles.
• Strong C++ skills, including profiling, debugging and optimising code.
• Industry experience of working with commercial proprietary engines.
• Solid understanding of code architecture best practices.
• Ability to think like a designer to create compelling and fun gameplay.
• Open‑minded, willing to experiment and iterate over a specific feature.
• Concepts as state machines, pathfinding, AI routines should be second nature.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Passion for making and playing great games.
• You are a team player and willing to take responsibility.
• Work effectively and independently with minimum guidance and support.
• Passion for gaming and game development.

Skills and experience it would be great to have

• Experience of working on current generation consoles.
• Familiarity with building data‑driven and scalable gameplay features.
• Experience with TDD and ECS.
• Experience with multi‑threaded programming.

Travel Requirements

This role requires you to be in our Leamington Spa studio for two days a week and may involve occasional travel to events. Please note that this role is only open to applicants who have the right to work in the UK. We are currently unable to offer sponsorship or consider applications from outside the UK.

Benefits

Flexitime working hours, Pension Scheme, Benefits platform with company funded allowance, which includes: Income Protection and Life cover, Private Healthcare coverage, Critical Illness, Online GP.