About the role
Mission
As an Experienced Gameplay Programmer on Stellaris, you will be responsible for complex systems across the full breadth of the game: designing and implementing architectural decisions for upcoming expansions, and helping improve the codebase as a whole. You will work shoulder to shoulder with designers and artists, contributing your perspective not just on how things are built but on what gets built and why. You will be someone the team turns to for technical guidance, and someone who helps the people around you grow.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and implement new architectural systems for Stellaris expansions.
- Lead technical decisions within your domain and contribute to broader architectural discussions.
- Improve, refactor, and maintain existing game systems, with an eye for performance and long-term codebase health.
- Investigate and fix bugs, including complex and systemic issues.
- Profile and optimise game systems to deliver a smooth player experience.
- Collaborate closely with designers, artists and QA bringing both technical depth and design instinct to the conversation.
- Help junior and mid-level programmers grow through code review, knowledge sharing, and hands-on guidance.
- Plan and scope your own work with a high degree of independence, and flag risks early.
Who You Are
- Confident and focused: You can navigate a large, evolving codebase, context-switch between tasks without losing momentum, and drive work to completion independently.
- Great communicator: You share early, explain your thinking clearly, and make it easy for designers, artists, and other programmers to work with you. You are approachable, and people feel comfortable coming to you with questions.
- Quick learner with a can-do attitude: You find exploring a decade of development history energizing rather than daunting.
- Game-focused: You care about the game design, not just the code. You bring opinions and ideas to design conversations.
- Adaptable: You stay grounded when plans shift and designs evolve, helping the team navigate change.
Requirements
- 5 or more years of professional C++ experience in game development, including on a live game with an active player base.
- Comfortable navigating and working across a large, complex codebase.
- Able to own and drive architecture decisions within your domain.
- Interest in performance and profiling, and the habits to back it up.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to contribute confidently to design conversations.
- Comfortable with Git and Visual Studio.
- Good written and spoken English.
Nice to Have
- Familiarity with Stellaris or a general interest in grand strategy and 4X games.
- Experience working on games targeting Linux or Mac.
- Comfortable planning and tracking work in Jira or a similar tool.
Work Culture
- Passionate team that cares about games and players.
- Player feedback shapes development.
- Team runs on trust with a flat hierarchy and high autonomy.
- Collaborative environment where programmers, designers, and artists work together.
- Focus on growth, learning from others, and mentoring team members.
Practical Information
- Scope: Full-time and permanent with a 6-month probation period.
- Reports to: Managing Tech Lead.
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden. (Relocation will not be provided).
- Salary: Starts at SEK 47,000 per month. The final salary is determined based on relevant experience, qualifications, and alignment with the role.