Director of Engineering

Zynga; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Zynga in London as Director of Engineering within Central Technology, leading multiple software teams that back our mobile games, AI initiatives, and live operations. You will steer architectural decisions, champion engineering excellence, and help grow teams across disciplines while aligning with business goals.

You will own roadmaps, drive advanced tech choices, and partner with technical leaders to advance best practices and a strong engineering culture at Zynga.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent.
• Experience directly managing software engineering teams.
• Hands-on software development experience.
• Strong understanding of engineering processes, code quality, CI/CD, security, and live operations.
• Experience developing mobile apps (native iOS/Android, Unity, or Unreal).
• Familiarity with Java, C#, C++, Python, or Go.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple software engineering teams across mobile game support, AI initiatives, R&D projects, and FinOps cost optimisation.
• Guide teams in using AI to accelerate development workflows and improve business outcomes.
• Drive technical excellence by validating technology choices, architecture, and code quality.
• Set teams up for success by identifying gaps, improving engineering processes, and creating growth opportunities.
• Represent your teams with stakeholders across disciplines, inside and outside the organization.
• Own team roadmaps, incorporating feedback from stakeholders and leadership to support Central Technology objectives.
• Partner with technical leaders across Zynga to advance best practices and engineering culture.

Skills

Team management

Mobile development

C++

Java

Python

Go

C#

Unreal

Agile

Education

B.S. in Computer Science

Tools

AWS

Job description

Level Up Your Career with Zynga!

At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times—connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition.

From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVilleTM, Words With FriendsTM, Zynga PokerTM, Game of Thrones Slots CasinoTM, Wizard of Oz SlotsTM, Hit it Rich! SlotsTM, Wonka SlotsTM, Top ElevenTM, Toon BlastTM, Empires & PuzzlesTM, Merge Dragons!TM, CSR RacingTM, Harry Potter: Puzzles & SpellsTM, Match FactoryTM, and Color Block JamTM—plus many more!

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation—and where you can take your career to the next level.

Join us and be part of the play!

Position Overview

Come join the team at Zynga making an impact across all of the company’s games - Central Technology! We focus on client & server tech that drives the core gameplay experience under the hood. We’re looking for an exceptional leader with a passion for technology and the ability to work with a diverse team. As Director of Engineering you will play a key role in managing multiple teams with a broad focus on game support, AI development, R&D and FinOps.

Main Responsibilities

• Lead multiple software engineering teams supporting mobile game development, AI initiatives, R&D projects, and FinOps cost optimisation
• Guide teams in using AI to accelerate development workflows and improve business outcomes
• Drive technical excellence by validating technology choices, architecture, and code quality, diving deep when needed
• Set teams up for success by identifying gaps, improving engineering processes, and creating growth opportunities
• Represent your teams with stakeholders across disciplines, both inside and outside the organization
• Own team roadmaps, incorporating feedback from stakeholders and leadership to support Central Technology objectives
• Partner with technical leaders across Zynga to advance best practices and engineering culture

Desired Skills and Experience

• B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent experience
• Experience directly managing software engineering teams
• Hands-on software development experience
• Solid understanding of best practices for engineering processes, code quality, build and release pipelines, security, and live operations
• Experience developing mobile applications (native iOS/Android, Unity, or Unreal)
• Familiarity with multiple programming languages, such as Java, C#, C++, Python, or Go
• Familiarity with Agile development methods and tools

Nice to Have

• Game development experience
• Experience with AWS cloud technologies

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at [e-mail] to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.

Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga’s in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, take2games.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).