Senior Director, Online Services

2K; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 227,700 - 337,020; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus potential

Equity awards

401(k) plan

Job summary

2K is seeking a Senior Director of Online Services to direct the live operation of our AAA free-to-play, cross-platform action game. Reporting to the Head of Technology, you will direct frontend engineering for our online systems and manage our Backend Engineering and Build Engineering teams.

You are the principal technology partner to Product Management, delivering features and pipelines to learn, optimize, and engage at runtime.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of engineering experience with leadership on AAA cross-platform Live Services games.
• 2+ years of leadership in frontend systems for AAA cross-platform Live Services games.
• Experience operating a shipped live service — release management, incident response, scale and availability.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical vision and roadmap for online services.
• Manage the Backend Engineering and Build Engineering leads and their teams.
• Own release management: cadence, patch and hotfix orchestration, and safe rollout.
• Own launch readiness and live health: capacity, scale and availability testing, observability, and incident response.
• Direct build engineering: CI/CD, submission pipelines, and automation.
• Partner with Product Management and Analytics to turn product strategy into online services capabilities.
• Partner with 2K Core Technology teams to identify and manage shared tech requirements.
• Deliver engagement tooling: live events, offers, messaging, and store merchandising.
• Direct development of pipelines for frontend systems — including authentication and presence, matchmaking, social features, and commerce.
• Own player safety and anti-toxicity systems.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Unreal Engine fluency

Frontend systems

Backend architecture

Tools

Unreal Engine

Job description

We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games. We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.

What we need:

31st Union is looking for a Senior Director of Online Services to direct the live operation of our AAA free-to-play, cross-platform action game. Reporting to the Head of Technology, you will direct frontend engineering for our online systems and manage our Backend Engineering and Build Engineering teams. You are the principal technology partner to Product Management, delivering the features and pipelines to learn, optimize, and engage at runtime.

Responsibilities:

Leadership

Set the technical vision and roadmap for online services

Manage the Backend Engineering and Build Engineering leads and their teams

Live Operations

Own release management: cadence, patch and hotfix orchestration, and safe rollout

Own launch readiness and live health: capacity, scale and availability testing, observability, and incident response

Direct build engineering: CI/CD, submission pipelines, and automation

Product Partnership

Partner with Product Management and Analytics to turn product strategy into online services capabilities

Partner with 2K Core Technology teams to identify and manage shared technology requirements

Maintain and extend pipelines for experimentation and segmentation, telemetry and player insight, and remote configuration

Deliver engagement tooling: live events, offers, messaging, and store merchandising

Frontend & Online Systems

Direct development of durable, flexible, and performant pipelines and runtimes for frontend systems — including authentication and presence, matchmaking, social features, and commerce

Own player safety and anti-toxicity systems

Maximize development freedom for design partners and model best practices

Who you are:

10+ years of engineering experience, including 5+ years of leadership on AAA cross-platform Live Services games

2+ years of leadership in frontend systems for AAA cross-platform Live Services games

Experience operating a shipped live service — release management, incident response, scale and availability

Unreal Engine fluency — including core object model, referencing patterns, threading patterns, and core frameworks, specifically including Online Subsystem

Command of distributed backend architecture and of software patterns for maintainable, debuggable systems

Experience delivering experimentation and telemetry pipelines with Product partners

Nice-to-Haves:

Experience with Unreal Engine 5

Experience launching free-to-play titles, including commerce and monetization

Experience with player safety or anti-toxicity systems

Experience with publisher shared-technology and first-party partners

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $227,700 and $337,020 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

Are you local to the San Mateo, CA area (or open to relocation) and are willing to come into the office 3 days a week?

You acknowledge that your personal information will be collected and used by 2K based on the Privacy Notice for Job Applicants (the “Privacy Notice”), available at https://www.take2games.com/applicantprivacypolicy/ . The Privacy Notice provides information about how we use your data and how you can exercise your data rights (such as access, correction, or deletion). If you need more information, please contact the Privacy Contact identified in the Privacy Notice.

As part of our hiring process, 2K will conduct a pre-employment background check. We may also require written verification from your current employer that you have ended your employment.

Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?

Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B, TN, etc.)? Responding “Yes” to this question will not preclude you from consideration for employment. "Sponsorship" includes any situation where the company must file a petition, application, or equivalent documentation to obtain or maintain your work authorization, including shifting from a student visa (like F-1 OPT or CPT) to an employer-sponsored status (like H-1B)

As part of 2K’s commitment to maintaining a workplace culture of inclusion and respect, we aim to find opportunities to improve our diversity and inclusion practices and resources. We hope that you will help us achieve this goal by voluntarily disclosing your demographic information.

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Any information you provide will be confidential, kept securely, and will not be used to make any employment-related decisions. More information about how 2K handles your personal data is available at 2K privacy link.

Finally, as a reminder, 2K is an equal employment opportunity employer. 2K does not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against individuals based on any protected characteristic. If you have any questions about this policy, please connect with [e-mail] for support.

Thank you for your help!

YOU SHOULD ONLY COMPLETE THESE VOLUNTARY QUESTIONS IF YOU RESIDE IN THE UNITED STATES AND INTEND TO WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. PLEASE DO NOT COMPLETE THESE QUESTIONS IF YOU DO NOT RESIDE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ARE APPLYING FOR A ROLE OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.

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Have you previously served or are you currently serving in the U.S. military?

Do you have a DISABILITY (as defined by the American’s with Disabilities Act, as amended, or other applicable law)?