SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (iPhone Games)
PlayFirst is an innovative entertainment company that makes games appealing to everyone. We
create engaging story worlds that capture imaginations and we make those experiences available
everywhere consumers want to play. PlayFirst teams create outstanding games, then we bring
those games to life across popular platforms worldwide including PC, Mac, iPhone, mobile,
handheld, and console. The company's portfolio includes world-renowned titles, such as Diner
Dash®, Wedding Dash™, Chocolatier™, and Dream Chronicles™. PlayFirst games are
available in major retailers and on more than 500 sites in 20 languages.
Founded in 2004 by veterans of Internet portals, traditional games publishers, entertainment
software, and technology firms, PlayFirst is funded by Mayfield Fund, Trinity Ventures, Rustic
Canyon Partners and DCM. PlayFirst, Inc is headquartered in downtown San Francisco.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Senior Software Engineer for iPhone works directly with the Director of Engineering and
iPhone Product Manager to establish the technology vision and direction for the iPhone in
alignment with PlayFirst’s platform goals. In addition to growing and leading a team of SDK,
server-side, and game engineers, this individual will also work closely with cross-functional
internal and external teams to support their technology needs. The Senior Software Engineer for
iPhone will ensure PlayFirst has the technical foundation upon which to design, develop and ship
innovative, award winning, and commercially successful iPhone titles.
RESPONSIBILITIES
 Responsible for communicating and guiding a technology strategy for the iPhone that
positions PlayFirst as an industry leader on the device.
 Responsible for managing a team of on-site and off-site developers to create a technical
foundation that can be used by internal or external teams to develop a diverse portfolio of
games.
 Responsible for reviewing the development strategy of project teams including approval of
requirements design, technical design, task estimation, implementation plans, automated
testing plans, debugging tools, and deployment.
 Responsible for evaluating technical risk and ensuring games are deployed against a
schedule.
REQUIREMENTS
 iPhone Programming Experience, including: Objective C++, XCode, Interface Builder,
Instruments, Cocoa Touch, UIKit, Core Audio, Core Animation, PowerVR Hardware, Push
Notifications, In App Purchase.
 Games Programming Experience, including: C++, LUA, XCode / Visual C++, OpenGLES,
OpenAL, PlayGround SDK or other games middleware. (e.g. DirectX, Havok, PhysX, Fmod,
Unreal, Unity, Torque, etc.).
 Familiarity with games middleware or SDK development and release strategies.
 Demonstrated strong knowledge of object-oriented design and implementation.
 Must have excellent written and verbal communications skills.
 Demonstrated ability to evaluate technical risk and make quick decisions to adhere to
scheduled and team-agreed timelines.
 6 or more years experience professional software development.
 4 or more years experience C++ development.
 Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Computer Science.
 Eligibility to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.
PREFERRED
 Past success with establishing and communicating technical direction within a mid-sized
software development or video game company.
 Past success with team based projects for which you were responsible for the full engineering
life-cycle from requirements gathering through to deployment.
 Understanding of server-side development and back-end systems, including experience with
some combination of: PHP, ASP, HTML, Java, J2EE, SQL, Apache, Encryption, TCP/IP &
UDP.
 Experience with localized and cross-platform product development .
 Previous experience reviewing the technical capabilities of 3rd party developers.
 Experience with embedded scripting languages (lua, ruby, python, perl, etc.).
 Experience developing and deploying networked multiplayer games.
BENEFITS
Core benefits include: health, dental, vision, life/disability, flexible spending accounts, 401(k)
and stock options. PlayFirst is located in the heart of SOMA (2 blocks from BART) and offers
great fringe benefits, including generous paid time off, 10 company holidays, chair massage,
snacks, refreshments, and company-wide "playdates" to test each of our games during the
development process.
Salary to be determined by education and experience.
To apply for this position, please email your resume in a standard Word or PDF document to
jobs@playfirst.com and please include the exact job title in the subject line.