Managing Tech Lead - Europa Universalis V

Paradox Interactive; Sitges; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 working days vacation

Private health insurance

Wellhub subscription

Office gym & yoga

Cobee flexible compensation

Full Paradox catalogue on Steam

Team activities

Job summary

Paradox Interactive in Sitges, Spain, is seeking a Managing Tech Lead to steer the programming team for a live grand strategy title. You will set technical objectives, maintain and improve the codebase, and balance architecture with the game roadmap while staying close to the craft.

The role emphasizes leadership, hands-on coding when possible, and collaboration with designers, artists, QA, and other leads to deliver reliable updates. English communication is essential.

Qualifications

• Solid C++ experience in a professional setting, ideally games.
• Experience leading a programmers team and hiring/onboarding.
• Ability to trade off priorities under constraints.
• Ability to explain technical decisions to engineers and non-engineers.
• History of improving team workflows and practices.
• Clear, direct English communication.

Responsibilities

• Manage the programming team: one-to-ones, feedback, career development, performance, hiring, onboarding.
• Set clear technical objectives aligned with vision and product roadmap.
• Drive improvements to the game and codebase focusing on performance, stability and maintainability.
• Collaborate with managers to remove blockers and balance tech decisions with scope, schedule and budget.
• Keep work aligned with roadmap across concurrent branches for smooth releases.
• Stay connected with Paradox's wider technical organization to share practices.
• Time permitting, contribute hands-on: implementing features and reviewing code.

Skills

C++ experience

Team leadership

Technical judgment

English communication

Codebase maintenance

Decision making

Job description

You will join the studio as the manager of our technical team working on a live grand strategy game, together with the designers, artists and QA who build and test it. We are looking for a Managing Tech Lead to lead the team and keep the existing codebase healthy: maintaining it, improving it and making sure it keeps supporting the game as it grows.

We care about how the team works: clear technical goals, honest conversations about priorities, and people who grow. If you enjoy helping engineers do their best work, and still want to stay close enough to the craft to make good calls, this is a good place for that.

Here the leads plan, decide and build. Judgment and hands-on work go together. Stay close to the code, develop your leadership skills and make great games.

What you will do

• Manage the programming team: one-to-ones, feedback, career development, performance, hiring and onboarding.

• Set clear technical objectives for the team that support the creative vision and the product roadmap, and contribute to technical direction alongside the other leads.

• Drive improvements to the game and the existing codebase, with a focus on performance, stability and maintainability.

• Work with the other managers to remove blockers, keep production moving and balance technical decisions against scope, schedule and budget.

• Keep the team's work aligned with the roadmap across concurrent update branches, so that we build and release with as few technical setbacks as possible.

• Stay connected to Paradox's wider technical organization, so that practices, tools and knowledge flow in both directions.

• Time permitting, contribute hands-on: implementing features and systems, reviewing code and solving gameplay problems with efficient technical solutions.

What you will need

• Solid C++ experience in a professional setting, ideally in games, including at least one shipped or live title.

• Experience leading a team of programmers, including the people side: setting expectations, giving feedback, and having the difficult conversations.

• Technical judgment: you prioritize under real constraints, make trade-offs and own the call.

• The ability to explain technical decisions clearly to engineers and non-engineers alike.

• A history of improving how a team works. There is a practice, tool or workflow that exists, or was killed, because of you.

• Clear, direct communication in English, written and spoken.

Things to elevate your application

• Paradox grand strategy experience, Europa Universalis especially. Genuine interest in the genre matters more than logged hours.

• Experience on a live title with a recurring update cadence.

• Experience working with a large, long-lived codebase.

The Studio

Paradox Tinto was founded in 2020 by a small and dedicated team of industry veterans led by Johan Andersson, and building on our experience from Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio, we develop Europa Universalis V, the latest entry in the grand strategy franchise that started it all more than twenty-five years ago.

The Team

At Paradox Tino we work in a small, gameplay focused team, where everyone is part of crafting the player experience and has input on the design of the game. We believe game development should be fun, and we strive for a relaxed, stress‑free atmosphere. Being a small studio built from the ground up, we expect everyone to contribute to the development of the studio and its culture. We are also proud of having accessible, experienced managers who lead you and care about you. Your contributions matter to us, to the whole studio, and to the games we make. You will be close to the final product, our community and our fans. We will encourage you to interact with our players directly through social media, our forum, and via streams. Work/life balance matters to us, so our development plans do not rely on crunch. This does not mean we never work overtime, but overtime is relatively uncommon and not encouraged.

The Location

Our office is 300m from one of the beaches of Sitges, a picturesque Mediterranean coastal city. It is well connected by public transport and within walking distance of restaurants, bars, pharmacies, supermarkets, shops and hotels. Sitges is barely 20 minutes by car or bus from El Prat, Barcelona's international airport. It offers 17 beaches along its own coastline, the Costa del Garraf, and an average of 300 days of sun a year, which is hard to argue with for outdoor sports and weekends. Mountain lovers still have the Pyrenees, only a two hour drive away. The town will also captivate you with its cultural events, Mediterranean food and, of course, excellent Spanish wine.

Some of our benefits

• 25 working days of vacation per year (23 per the collective agreement, plus 2 extra)

• Private health insurance

• Wellhub subscription: gym access and digital wellbeing apps

• A private gym at the office, plus optional free yoga and HIIT sessions

• Cobee by Pluxee flexible compensation, letting you allocate part of your gross salary to meals or public transport

• Free access to the full Paradox catalogue on Steam, over 100 games

• Healthy snacks and soft drinks, a private garden, and regular team activities

At Paradox Interactive we celebrate difference and care deeply about diversity and inclusion. We therefore encourage you, no matter who you are, to apply for this job if you think you'd be a great addition to our team.

Practical information

Scope: Full-time and permanent

Location: Sitges, Barcelona (Spain)

WFH/WFO: 100% onsite

Reports to: Head of Operations