Software Engineer/Developer

School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Wisconsin–Madison's Field Day Lab seeks a Lead Developer to blend strong software engineering with technical leadership for educational game projects. This role is roughly 70% hands-on development and 30% mentoring and coordination.

You will build core game systems, guide engineering practices, and collaborate with educators, researchers, and designers to advance educational games. Onsite work at 1025 W. Johnson Street is expected.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of professional software development experience, including experience developing games and interactive applications.

Responsibilities

• Prepares program documentation and training requirements
• Maintains and troubleshoots applications, systems, or websites
• Implements data structure and systems performance strategies
• Reviews application design specifications, codes new applications, and makes enhancements to existing applications
• Develops or modifies technical specifications for low-complexity projects using disciplined software development practices
• Tests and debugs programs, and prepares systems test data

Skills

Unity

C#

JavaScript

Python

Game development

Mentoring

Technical leadership

Documentation

Prototyping

Collaboration

Estimating engineering effort

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Communication

Modeling/simulations

Intern mentor

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or closely related field

Job description

Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Regular

Job Profile

Software Engineer/Developer I

Job Summary

We are seeking a Lead Developer who combines strong software engineering skills with technical leadership. This role is approximately 70% hands-on development and 30% technical leadership, mentoring, and coordination. The successful candidate will build core game systems while guiding engineering practices, supporting other developers, and helping shape the technical direction of multiple educational game projects.

Field Day Lab is a research and development group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that creates educational games and digital tools for teaching and learning. Their focus is on designing interactive experiences that blend game-based learning with academic research, aiming to engage students and teachers in subjects such as science, history, and social studies.

The lab collaborates with educators, scientists, and other researchers to develop these digital tools, often grounded in real-world data and classroom environments. They explore how games can enhance learning by providing students with interactive, immersive environments where they can experiment, explore, and apply concepts in new ways.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Prepares program documentation and training requirements
• Maintains and troubleshoots applications, systems, or websites
• Implements data structure and systems performance strategies
• Reviews application design specifications, codes new applications, and makes enhancements to existing applications
• Develops or modifies technical specifications for low-complexity projects using disciplined software development practices
• Tests and debugs programs, and prepares systems test data

Department

School of Education / Wisconsin Center for Education Research- Field Day Lab

Compensation

Minimum: $70,000

Commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of professional software development experience, including experience developing games and interactive applications.
• Demonstrated expertise with Unity and a strong understanding of game development principles.
• Advanced proficiency in C# and experience with additional programming languages such as JavaScript and Python, with the ability to adapt to new programming languages as needed.
• Experience independently developing game prototypes from concept through implementation.
• Ability to read, understand, and refactor code efficiently.
• Experience translating project goals into technical implementation plans and engineering solutions.
• Experience leading technical decision-making for complex software projects.
• Demonstrated leadership experience mentoring, coaching, and providing technical guidance to software developers.
• Experience breaking large projects into technical workstreams, estimating engineering effort, prioritizing and assigning tasks, tracking progress, providing coaching and feedback to ensure timely completion.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including designers, artists, producers, researchers, and educators.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including writing and maintaining clear documentation.
• Ability and comfort at moving across domains and mathematically model them into simulations.
• Experience mentoring interns or early-career developers.
• Experience building rapid prototypes and creating a culture of experimentation where prototypes are viewed as learning tools rather than miniature products, enabling the team to iterate quickly and discard ideas that are not working.
• Ability to maintain a regular onsite presence at 1025 W. Johnson Street, Madison, WI multiple days each week, with the specific onsite schedule determined during the interview process based on operational needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Game Development, or a closely related field.
• Experience leading development teams or serving as a technical lead.
• Experience with mathematical modeling or simulation development.
• Experience with educational games, serious games, or learning technologies.
• Experience collaborating in research or academic environments.
• Experience with audio editing and recording software.
• Experience establishing engineering best practices, code review processes, and development workflows.

Education

Bachelor's Degree, Computer Science preferred

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e., a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. UW-Madison is not an E-Verify employer and therefore is not eligible to employ F1 STEM OPT Extension participants

Contact Information

Sarah Gagnon

Games Studio Creative Director

[e-mail]

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