Engineering Manager - Gaming Developer and Future Technology

Sony Playstation; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus opportunity

Private Medical Insurance

Dental Scheme

25 days holiday per year

On-site gym

Subsidised Café

Free soft drinks

On-site bar

Access to cycle garage and showers

Job summary

Sony Interactive Entertainment is seeking a Software Engineering Manager within the Applied Research Engineering team to lead a group of mid-to-senior engineers. This hands-on management role balances leadership with technical engagement to drive high-quality outcomes.

You will partner with senior technical leads and the TPM, focussing on people leadership, delivery health, and cross-functional collaboration across PlayStation Studios and global engineering groups.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years pf experience in engineering management or equivalent technical leadership.
• Strong software engineering background to guide technical teams and balance delivery trade-offs.
• Hands‑on development experience in C++, C#, Python or comparable technologies.
• Experience delivering production-quality software through the development lifecycle.
• Ability to understand technical proposals, ask effective questions, and resolve challenges with leads.
• Evidence of coaching others and supporting team effectiveness.
• Good communication skills and ability to explain technical topics clearly.
• Experience collaborating across teams, functions, or locations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support a team of mid-level to senior engineers through regular 1:1s and development conversations.
• Stay close to the technical work to support sound engineering decisions and contribute where it helps the team.
• Enable predictable delivery by clarifying scope and addressing blockers early.
• Help translate objectives into practical team plans with technical leads and the TPM.
• Represent engineering judgement in planning discussions to align needs and technical considerations.
• Provide day-to-day leadership for engineering teams and initiatives with senior management support.
• Help build an inclusive, high-trust culture focused on collaboration, learning, and technical excellence.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships and communicate clearly across teams and locations.
• Support hiring and onboarding to grow the team sustainably.
• Support pragmatic improvements to engineering practices to improve outcomes.
• Communicate engineering progress and recommendations with context for good decisions.

Skills

Engineering management

Software engineering leadership

C++

C#

Python

Production-quality software

Coaching

Communication skills

Cross-team collaboration

Influencing without authority

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field

Tools

PlayStation SDK

C++ toolchain

DevOps basics

Job description

Why Sony Interactive Entertainment?

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we’re part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting-edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity.

Department Overview:

As part of the Gaming, Developer and Future Technology (GDFT), Applied Research Engineering team, you will manage and work with research, engineering, platform, and PlayStation Studios teams to incubate promising technical ideas into robust, reusable engineering capabilities.

GDFT is focused on the future development of PlayStation. We’re looking for people who want to make a difference, love working with creative, intelligent, and collaborative colleagues. If that sounds like something you would love to do, we want to hear from you!

Role Overview:

We are looking for a Software Engineering Manager to lead and develop a team of approximately 5-8 mid to senior-level engineers in Applied Research Engineering. You will help translate organisational objectives into clear engineering priorities and create the conditions for engineers to perform, grow, and deliver high-quality outcomes.

This is a hands‑on technical management role, expected to lean primarily toward management and leadership while retaining meaningful technical engagement. The balance may evolve over time based on team maturity, delivery needs, and organisational priorities.

You will work in partnership with senior technical leads and the TPM, owning people leadership, team effectiveness, delivery health, and local escalation for your areas while staying close enough to the technical work to support good engineering decisions.

You will build effective relationships with internal partners, including PlayStation Studios and globally distributed engineering groups. Occasional travel may be required to support collaboration, planning, or partner engagement.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and support a team of mid-level to senior engineers through regular 1:1s and development conversations


• Stay close to the technical work so you can support sound engineering decisions and contribute where it helps the team


• Enable predictable delivery by helping the team clarify scope and address blockers early


• Help translate agreed objectives into practical team plans in partnership with technical leads and the TPM


• Represent engineering judgement in planning discussions, so team needs and technical considerations are well understood


• Provide day-to-day leadership for engineering teams and initiatives with appropriate support from senior managers


• Help build an inclusive, high-trust culture focused on collaboration, learning, and technical excellence


• Build strong cross-functional relationships and communicate clearly across teams and locations


• Support hiring and onboarding so that the team can grow sustainably.


• Support pragmatic improvements to engineering practices where they help the team deliver better outcomes


• Communicate engineering progress and recommendations clearly, including the context needed for good decisions

Qualifications:

• 2-3 years pf experience in engineering management or equivalent technical leadership


• Strong software engineering background with the judgement to guide technical teams and balance delivery trade-offs


• Hands‑on development experience in C++, C#, Python or comparable technologies


• Experience delivering production-quality software through the development lifecycle


• Ability to understand technical proposals, ask effective questions, and work with technical leads to resolve challenges


• Evidence of coaching others and supporting team effectiveness.


• Good communication skills, including the ability to explain technical and delivery topics clearly


• Experience collaborating across teams, functions, or locations


• Motivation to continue growing as an engineering manager


• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field is desirable

Nice to haves:

• Experience in leading or participating in cross-functional teams and projects is also beneficial


• Exposure to cutting‑edge Machine Learning and AI technologies, with a passion for exploring their impact on gaming and software development


• Knowledge and interest in client, server and web technologies


• Knowledge of PlayStation hardware and SDK

Benefits of working in Gaming, Developer and Future Technology:

• Technology development is not constrained by specific games/engines. There is time and space to research and develop cutting edge technologies


• Opportunities to participate in global hackathons


• Opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills by learning about the latest techniques in a team of experts with a wealth of industry experience


• Relaxed working environment with high level of trust and autonomy.


• All staff are encouraged to express their views and challenge the status quo

Benefits:

• Discretionary bonus opportunity


• Private Medical Insurance


• Dental Scheme
  
• 25 days holiday per year


• On‑site gym


• Subsidised Café


• Free soft drinks


• On‑site bar


• Access to cycle garage and showers

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.