Salary
£42k - £68.3k
£40k
£45k
£50k
£55k
£60k
£65k
£70k
Senior Tools Programmer
Tools programming supports game development by creating and maintaining software tools that streamline content creation, asset management, and deployment processes. This function involves developing and optimising custom editors, plugins, and automation scripts using languages like C++, C#, Python, and MaxScript to improve workflows and ensure tool reliability across platforms. It supports integration with game engines, version control, and build systems, and addresses performance and usability through debugging, documentation, and ongoing iteration. Tools programmers work closely with artists, designers, and engineers to understand production requirements, enhance user experience, and deliver efficient, scalable solutions that enable smooth and effective game development pipelines.
Maintaining, improving and developing editors, tools and plugins for game content creation and asset pipelines Analyze and fix common problems in a game engine, such as performance issues and memory usage. Maintain code quality and performance, and extend systems to support changing design requirements over time Work with other experienced team members to research and define software architectural patterns and frameworks to use for building internal tooling. Collaborate closely with the Lead and team to support delivering internal tool features and fixes including technical discussion, following processes, and reviewing code. Document work to share knowledge and enable user onboarding with new systems and changes Collaborate with all disciplines (i.e., programmers, artists, UI and UX designers) to identify areas for improvement, gather feedback, and design solutions for customer needs
Technical Areas
Editors/plugins/automation (C++, C#, Python, MaxScript)
engine/VCS/build integration
performance/usability
debugging & problem-solving
docs
iteration with content teams
Interpersonal Skills
Communication
Cross-disciplinary Collaboration
Feedback-driven iteration
user-empathy