Backend Engineer

Lightforge Games is a new studio bringing the roleplaying back into RPGs.

We're looking for people of all levels, backgrounds, voices, identities, and perspectives to join us on our journey. We strongly believe the key to making a better game, better company, and better industry begins with a diverse set of voices.

We value transparency, empathy, and personal growth, and we believe that making games is both an art and a science.

As a fully remote company, we're open to teammates living nearly anywhere. We practice nonlinear workdays, allowing everyone to determine how and when they work best. We also follow an open salary policy where all pay details are shared with everyone. This holds us accountable to fair pay.

Lightforge Games is very much a work-in-progress, and you can help shape who we are. Come join us to build something special!

We need someone to...

Implement and maintain online features and systems for a live online game

There’s a lot more to live games than the client, and that’s where you come in! Authentication, storage, social - if the internet is involved, you are too. Most of your time will be spent working in our backend services built on top of Pragma (it’s like a game engine, but for backend features). That means you’ll be primarily developing online game features, not fundamental systems from scratch.

Design, develop, and maintain automation

Even small teams need solid developer workflows - CI/CD, automated testing, server deployment, etc. -. Remember when we said above that if the internet is involved, you are too? That means stuff like this! We want an engineer who likes automating things, rather than a sysadmin who can write scripts.

Work as part of the greater engineering team

“Backend" is a specialization, same as frontend or gameplay. While the vast majority of your time will be spent in backend you will need to work in other areas. You’ll collaborate with your teammates in these situations, from asking for help and giving guidance to troubleshooting issues and explaining details of systems you know well.

Seek out problems, then solve them

We’re a relatively small and all-remote team working on a very ambitious project. You’ll be responsible for owning a variety of features where you’re the expert, and you’ll have a lot of freedom to decide how best to implement them. With that freedom comes the responsibility to proactively gather requirements, clarify designs, research solutions to similar problems, and collaborate with your fellow engineers.

Write clear, intuitive, and just overall terrific code

You care about maintaining consistency and standards, reducing potential for error, and strive to leave code you work with better than you found it. You’ll design features and write code with an eye toward usability by your teammates. You’ll also solicit and offer candid feedback from fellow engineers, continually developing your craft and growing as both an engineer and teammate.

Engage intentionally with an all-remote team

Thanks to the pandemic, we all have a pretty good sense of what remote work is like now. You know it takes intentional effort to develop relationships with others and really feel part of the team, and you’re up for it. You’ll embrace async communication, write a lot of stuff down, and proactively take actions to involve yourself with the team.

We need someone who...

Is comfortable and knowledgeable with backend development

Backend development has so many possible languages and stacks, it’s fine if you haven’t used our exact stack or every language we use (Kotlin, Go, and C++ are our biggies). What’s most important here are the concepts and experience that come from working on multi-language, multi-tier online applications.

Has worked on a live online app with active users

As with any live product, a live game needs continual support and maintenance - a much trickier process once there are lots of people playing it. If you’ve worked on a live multiplayer game, that’s terrific, but experience on other live apps also counts. Supporting a live service product comes with a unique set of joys and frustrations, and it’s important that you’ve experienced some of that.

Has demonstrated engagement in game development

While backend features for a game are similar to backend features for any app, game development is a pretty unique process, and we need you to have a sense of what it’s like. The best way to demonstrate that is by having engaged in developing a game yourself at some point. This generally means professional, side, or school projects on cross-discipline teams. Solo projects count too, they just demonstrate less experience with multidisciplinary team dynamics.

Communicates exceptionally well

Particularly on an all-remote team, clear communication (especially written) is crucial. You’ll be writing technical documentation, how-to guides, submission descriptions, Slack messages, meeting notes, and of course, code. You’ll also be giving feedback to teammates on their work, expressing design ideas, and explaining complex technical scenarios to nontechnical teammates.

Vibes with our core values

We take them pretty seriously and refer to them regularly as we make decisions and do our work.

Bonus points for having...

• A passion for tabletop RPGs
• Developed/shipped/maintained a live-service game
• Developed/shipped a cross-platform game
• Worked on large multi-discipline teams with large codebases
• Wildcard: There are lots of areas of knowledge and experience that could make for an outstanding candidate. If you have any other qualifications that you believe apply well to the role and the functions you'll be performing, tell us!

Employee Compensation

LFG is committed to an annual review of compensation ranges to account for inflation. As of March 6, 2023 - we've increased our existing salary ranges by roughly 3%. The updated base salary range for this role is between $144,200 - $175,100, depending on levels of skills and experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy:

Lightforge Games is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. We value diversity and inclusivity and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

All employment decisions at Lightforge Games are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to any protected characteristic. Our commitment to equal employment opportunity extends to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotions, training, disciplinary actions, and termination.

We strive to foster a workplace that is diverse, respectful, and inclusive, where every employee feels valued and empowered. We believe that a diverse workforce brings different perspectives and ideas, leading to innovation and success.

If you need assistance or accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please contact us at [email protected]