Software Engineer - Tooling

Iconic Interactive; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

25 days annual leave

Hybrid work in London

Inclusive culture

Job summary

Iconic Interactive, an AI-native game studio in London, seeks a versatile full-stack engineer to own internal tooling. You’ll build tools and UX to empower creators and support rapid, innovative experiences across teams and partners.

You’ll work in a small, autonomous team, delivering end-to-end features from concept to production, balancing creator UX with scalable, maintainable code and strong collaboration with artists, writers, designers, and engineers.

Qualifications

• Strong experience with TS/React frontends in a scalable way.
• Experience with React performance optimisation and frontend state management (Tanstack Query / Zustand).
• Strong proficiency with Python.
• Familiarity with Git and software engineering principles.
• Confidence in collaborating across disciplines and learning new tools daily.
• Appreciation for game design and development principles.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the tools and workflows that enable teams to create AI-powered experiences.
• Develop intuitive full-stack applications for designers, artists and writers.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to translate needs into tools.
• Build and maintain narrative systems and creator workflows.
• Iterate quickly based on developer feedback and real-world use.
• Write performant, scalable, maintainable production code.

Skills

Typescript/React

React performance

Python

Git

Collaboration

Game design

Tools

Tanstack Query

Zustand

Django

SQL

Unreal Engine

Unity

Linux

DevOps

C/C++

ORMs

Git

Job description

This is a hybrid role (3 days per week) based out of London.

Iconic Interactive is an AI-native game development and research studio exploring the future of interactive entertainment, digital actors, and intelligent worlds. We are looking for a versatile a full-stack software engineer to focus on our internal tooling effort.

The Role:

You’ll take ownership of Iconic’s internal tooling, building the systems and UX that will power the next generation of games and enable creators to rapidly build entirely new kinds of experiences.

Working closely with game design teams both internally and with our external partners, you’ll identify requirements, translate them into intuitive tools and workflows, and build and maintain the full-stack applications that bring them to life. You’ll respond directly to developer feedback and continuously evolve the tools, empowering teams of all sizes to create and ship experiences that haven’t been possible before.

As part of a small, focused team, you’ll have significant autonomy and end-to-end ownership of the features you build. You’ll collaborate closely with artists, writers, designers and engineers to develop and maintain narrative systems, balancing great creator UX with performant, scalable and maintainable code.

What You’ll Do:

• Build and own the tools and workflows that enable teams to create AI-powered experiences
• Develop intuitive full-stack applications for designers, artists and writers
• Work directly with internal teams and external partners to understand their needs and turn them into great tools
• Build and maintain narrative systems and creator-facing workflows
• Iterate quickly based on developer feedback and real-world use
• Write performant, scalable and maintainable production code

What We’re Looking For:

• Strong experience with building Typescript & React frontends in a maintainable and scalable way.
• Experience with React performance optimisation, and frontend state management systems such as Tanstack Query or Zustand.
• Strong proficiency with Python
• Familiarity with Git and software engineering principles
• Confidence in collaborating across disciplines, and learning new tools every day
• An appreciation for game design and development principles

Nice to Have:

• Proficiency or familiarity with machine learning concepts and using large language models.
• Proficiency with C/C++
• Experience with SQL & Django or similar ORMs
• Experience with Unreal Engine, Unity or similar game engines
• Experience with Linux systems & devops
• Familiarity with cross-platform software compilation and packaging (e.g. dynamic and static linking)

Why Join Us

Be a foundational member of a team innovating at the intersection of AI, art, and storytelling. You'll help shape the research direction, culture, and technical foundations of a company building toward something genuinely new.

What we offer:

• Competitive salary and equity compensation
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Based in London with hybrid work
• Inclusive & friendly company culture with socials and game breaks