Principal Technical Producer, Backend
Who We Are
Second Dinner is an award-winning independent game development studio full of game-makers who are driven to create fun game experiences for players all over the world. Our flagship game, MARVEL SNAP, has earned multiple accolades, including Mobile Game of the Year Awards (Game Awards, DICE), Best Strategy Game (IGN), and the Apple Design Award for Innovation!
Second Dinner is a remote-first studio, so while we are headquartered in Irvine, California, most of our team is fully remote across the United States. We’re passionate about finding the most talented teammates, wherever they call home. We firmly believe a diverse team with varied perspectives makes us a better company and will help us make better games. If you think you bring something to the table that broadens our point of view, we’d love to hear about it.
Our Production Team
The Marvel SNAP Production Team at Second Dinner has two key goals: continue to deliver an awesome gaming experience for our debut game and develop one of the best game Production teams in the industry. We care deeply about making great games with great people.
In order to support the wider game team in doing the work they love, we proactively remove roadblocks, facilitate alignment across departments, and keep our priorities in check. We actively work to create best practices that allow for sustainable game development. This includes managing project scope to mitigate any need for overtime, and ensuring team members are able to leverage their expertise and interests while also having ample opportunities to challenge themselves as they grow as individuals.
Your Role
You will report to the Associate Director of Production in charge of Marvel SNAP production. Your primary responsibility is to partner with the backend and platform teams to ensure smooth release cycles and live operations of Marvel Snap worldwide. If you love crafting world-class game experiences and collaborating with extraordinarily talented cross-functional teams, then APPLY!
What You’ll Do
Oversee and make critical decisions on live game issues
Evolve and maintain best practices for development operations
Work with the Backend & Infra/Platform engineering team to improve Marvel SNAP’s cloud infrastructure and reduce cloud operational costs
Work with the Live Operations engineering team to improve application performance, and handling of live issues
Manage vendor relationships and costs for our AWS Cloud Infrastructure
Follow a checklist to build, deploy, and release updates to the game, and make live configuration changes using tools like GitHub and LaunchDarkly
Manage our client build configurations and our store releases via Apple App Store, Google Play Console, Steamworks, and Samsung Seller Portal
Coordinate release schedules for client and server hotfixes with marketing, QA, engineers, product, and design
Create and approve pull requests, which sometimes involves writing basic code
Proactively identify and mitigate bottlenecks to keep the team running smoothly
Ensure the team works at a sustainable pace and continuously improves
Production nuts and bolts: task tracking, bug assignment, running retrospectives, running meetings
Champion the project vision to the team
What You’ll Need
Experience shipping and supporting a live game or live service as a technical producer or technical program manager
Hands-on experience with a version control software like GitHub
High levels of empathy and support for team members
Positive and optimistic leadership style and the ability to stay cool under pressure
Excellent and flexible communication skills whether in person, over Zoom, or in writing
Comfortable with ambiguity while working to reduce the cone of uncertainty
Love for playing and making great games
Nice to Have, But Not Necessary
Experience with AWS or another Cloud provider
Experience working on a live mobile game
Experience using Unity
Experience with the app stores – Apple App Store, Google Play Console, Steamworks, Samsung Seller Portal
The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $205,000 to $250,000 USD + equity + comprehensive benefits + potential for discretionary performance bonuses. Individual pay within this salary range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs. The disclosed range is not adjusted based on location and may be subject to change or modification based on business needs in the future. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process.
An overview of the benefits and perks at Second Dinner
Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans with Second Dinner paying 100% of premiums for employees and 75% for dependents for many plans
401(k) contribution with no waiting period
16 weeks paid parental leave with no waiting period
Home office improvement bonus
Paid Vacation & Sick time
Up to 10 BetterHelp sessions covered each benefits plan year
Remote-first with core overlap hours between 10AM and 4PM PT
Company Winter Holiday shutdown (Dec 25-Jan 1)
Company Summer Holiday shutdown (week of July 4)
Company Events - In-person Summer all-hands gathering, in-person holiday party, and virtual events throughout the year
We are an equal opportunity employer that places high value on diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, disability status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military status, or veteran status.