Senior Software Engineer GDK

Light & Wonder; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

25 days' holiday + bank holidays

Private Medical Insurance

Job summary

Light & Wonder in Manchester seeks a Senior Software Engineer to help design and evolve a cross‑platform game framework powering experiences across web, mobile, desktop, and land‑based gaming platforms. You will work with game developers, QA, and platform teams in an Agile environment to deliver scalable solutions and high‑quality code.

You will influence technical direction, tackle complex performance challenges, and stay current with gaming and tech trends to drive continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Proven experience building complex, scalable, and maintainable software systems.
• Strong object-oriented programming skills in TypeScript, C#, or C++.
• Hands-on experience with modern game engines such as Unreal or Unity.
• Experience working in Agile teams and delivering iteratively.

Responsibilities

• Help build and evolve a cross‑platform game framework used across web, mobile, desktop, and land-based platforms.
• Design and develop core framework components used across multiple games and teams.
• Influence architecture to ensure scalable, maintainable solutions for the future.
• Solve performance and optimisation challenges across platforms and languages.
• Write clean, high‑quality code and promote engineering best practices across the team.
• Collaborate closely with game developers, QA, and platform engineering in Agile environments.
• Share knowledge and drive continuous improvement within the engineering function.

Skills

OO programming

TypeScript

C#

C++

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Web technologies (JavaScript/TypeScript)

Job description

Gaming: Welcome to the world of land-based gaming. At Light & Wonder, it’s all about the games, and our Gaming team builds cutting-edge technology, products, and content for the most iconic casinos and operators across the globe.

Position Summary

At Light & Wonder, we're building the technology that powers the next generation of gaming experiences. As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll play a key role in developing a shared game framework used across multiple products, platforms, and teams. You'll tackle complex engineering challenges, influence technical direction, and help create scalable solutions that enable game developers to build amazing player experiences faster and more effectively. If you're excited by solving difficult problems, collaborating with talented colleagues, and having a real impact on the future of gaming technology, we'd love to hear from you.

We're looking for people who are full of ideas, want to challenge the norm and work to our core values…

• Dare to be Bold - We always bring courage to work to reach for the unbelievable.
• Uphold Integrity - We promote accountability and respect to raise the bar for ourselves and the industry.
• Never Settle - We relentlessly push forward to create the extraordinary in every detail.
• Celebrate Perspectives - We combine diverse talent to look at the familiar in unfamiliar ways.
• Win as a Team We bring out the best in each other to share collective success.

What You'll Do

• Help build and evolve a next-generation, cross-platform game framework that powers experiences across web, mobile, desktop, and land-based gaming platforms.
• Design and develop core framework components used across multiple games, teams, and technologies.
• Influence technical architecture and engineering direction, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and built for the future.
• Solve complex performance and optimisation challenges across different platforms, languages, and environments.
• Write clean, high-quality code and champion engineering best practices to maintain a robust and reliable framework.
• Collaborate closely with game developers, QA, and platform engineering teams within Agile delivery environments such as Scrum and Kanban.
• Contribute to technical discussions, share knowledge with colleagues, and help drive continuous improvement across the engineering function.
• Stay current with emerging gaming and technology trends, applying relevant innovations to enhance the framework and development process.

What You'll Bring

• Proven experience building complex, scalable, and maintainable software systems.
• Strong object-oriented programming skills and proficiency in at least one language such as TypeScript, C#, C++, or similar.
• Hands-on experience working with modern game engines such as Unreal, Unity, or equivalent technologies.
• Experience working within Agile software development teams and delivering solutions through iterative development practices.
• A pragmatic, performance-focused approach to problem solving, with the ability to balance technical excellence and commercial requirements.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience in game development, with a strong understanding of game architecture, development lifecycles, and platform considerations.
• Knowledge of casino gaming, iGaming, or other regulated software environments.
• Experience with web technologies including JavaScript, TypeScript, WebGL, and browser performance optimisation.
• Understanding of mobile development and performance optimisation for Android and iOS.
• Experience with graphics programming, rendering pipelines, shaders, or engine-level performance improvements.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, build systems, development toolchains, and extending game engines through native modules or SDKs.
• A passion for emerging technologies and their application within gaming.

Please note that this role is based in our Manchester studio and you will be expected to attend the office at least 4 days a week.

How You'll Grow

• Shape the future of game development by influencing the architecture and technical direction of a framework used across multiple products and platforms.
• Expand your technical expertise through exposure to engine-level development, performance optimisation, and modern technologies across web, mobile, desktop, and land-based gaming.
• Develop your leadership and influence by collaborating with experienced engineers, contributing to key technical decisions, and helping define engineering best practices across the business.

What we can offer you?

• Discretionary Annual performance bonus
• 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays'
• 1 day paid leave to work on charitable projects
• 1 day paid for personal celebration e.g. birthdays
• Half Day for Health (encouraging you to take time away for you & your wellbeing)
• Up to 8% employer pension contributions
• A reward platform offering a cycle to work scheme and shopping and lifestyle discounts/cashback
• Wellbeing benefits including Private Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance and Aviva DigiCare
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Optional benefits such as Tastecard, Give As You Earn and Travel Ticket Loan.

Light & Wonder are an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage applications from all walks of life regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

If you are invited to an interview, please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, we can make to the recruitment process that will enable you to perform to the best of your ability.