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About Sumo Nottingham

Sumo Nottingham develops action and racing games for console and PC, bringing character and innovation to everything we do.

Sumo Nottingham develops multiple AAA projects with some of the world's biggest publishers, with games such as Team Sonic Racing and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As well as contributing to genre-defining titles like the Forza Motorsport, Horizons and Hogwarts Legacy; Sumo Nottingham's vast development experience spans multiple genres and platforms.

The team at Sumo Nottingham is growing, and we are looking for talented people to help bring a series of incredible projects to life.

As winners of the TIGA Star Employment Award for 2021, recipients of the GI Biz 2020 Best Places to Work Award and listed as one of the UK's 100 Best Large Companies to Work for in 2021, Sumo Digital has enjoyed 18 years of stability and growth since its formation in 2003 and continues to strive for excellence across every single project.

Sumo Nottingham is made up of a diverse mix of talented people, who want to come, to develop and do their best work. Our studio culture is one that drives performance by putting people first. If you are looking for somewhere that is a little bit special and unique, come and join us. We welcome applications from all qualified applicants, without regard to race, colour, religion, disability, or age.

The Role

We're looking for an experienced Senior Technical Designer to join our game team working on an exciting new console title. You are practical and flexible, taking responsibility for your work, working proactively with others to solve problems and are a technical source of knowledge for the whole team. You will design and build prototypes to test new ideas, develop final implementation of features and collaborate with other disciplines to deliver on the game vision. You will mentor junior designers and help them achieve their best work as well as championing technical processes for the design team.

Maintain Value of Technical Design

• Designing and building systems (all stages) of many varieties (player, world, engine tooling etc.)
• Creation and maintenance of design documentation for systems and processes
• Focus and iterate to become a specialist in one or more areas of system design project-wide
• Share technical knowledge as a point of contact for all departments
• Adapt and maintain core processes for the team in both technical and design aspects

Teamwork

• Expect to receive feedback and learn to use it constructively
• Coordinate daily with whole design department to ensure that game direction is being followed
• Coordinate regularly with programming department to ensure efficient processes are being followed
• Work with other departments to bring high level concepts to fruition according to original intent

Essential Skills

• 5+ years of relevant experience in a design role with implementation responsibilities
• The ability to own game features/systems and drive their development in a cross-disciplinary team
• The ability to analyse, debug and deconstruct existing implemented features
• Strong documentation skills for simple demonstration of complex technical and design concepts
• Strong scripting/programming skills and a portfolio to demonstrate these
• Working knowledge of optimisation and technical limitations (mainly in popular tools such as Unity and Unreal Engine)
• Knowledge of the underlying elements that make up various gameplay systems
• Experience with replicated/networked implementation
• Experience shipping at least one title

Bonus Skills

• Experience with various visual scripting/programming systems and tools
• Experience with third-person game development
• Experience developing player mechanics regarding 3Cs
• Strong knowledge of game and level design principles
• Strong public speaking skills
• Interest in other disciplines such as audio, animation, VFX etc.

What we offer:

. Defined Annual Bonus Scheme

. ULEV car scheme

. Monthly allowance to spend on enhancing benefits

. Salary Sacrifice Pension

. Flexible Working

. 21 days free-use holiday

+ your birthday off

+ 5 learning days including 1 volunteer day

+ a duvet day

+ Christmas shutdown from Christmas Eve to New Year

+ Bank Holidays

+ extra allowance accrued for longer service

. Free dental insurance

. Life Assurance 4x Salary

. Income Protection of 75% for 5 years

. Paid membership to any one Pure Gym location

. Enhanced Mat/Paternity & Adoption pay

. Employee Assistance Programme:

. Help at Hand - Remote GP, Mental Health & Physio appointments

. Free financial & home buying support consultations

. Cycle to Work Scheme

. Payroll Giving Scheme

. Access to 4,000 Udemy Courses

. Career Development Pathway

. Wrap Parties.

. Project Completion Awards

. Game/Creative Jams

. Big Family Events

. Studio social activities, e.g. running, board games, film, yoga, life drawing...

. Prism - Sumo's employee diversity focus group

. Free fruit and drinks in our studios

. Employee Referral Bonus

Your career development:

• Career development support through recognised discipline pathways

• 5 learning and development days to use as you choose

• Regular game jams and creative jams

• Access to a wealth of training materials from leading content providers such as Udemy, Epic, Gnomon Workshop and the GDC Vault

• Internal project showcases for knowledge sharing across Sumo Digital

• Take advantage of a big selection of titles within our Game & Book Libraries

Perks and Extras:

• Long service and game completion awards

• Studio tuck shop

• Free fruit and drinks

• Cake and savoury buffets on Friday mornings

• Last Friday of the month drinks and games

• Awesome Christmas party

• Summer Family Big Day Out

Where do we stand on diversity?

At Sumo, we want to enable everyone to bring their full, authentic selves to work every single day. We acknowledge that the games industry is far from perfect and a global organisation with people all over the world, from all kinds of backgrounds, we know it's part of our duty to provide everyone at Sumo with a safe, accepting and affirming working environment.

We encourage and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Who are Sumo Nottingham?

We are a studio with a friendly, fun vibe, committed to maintaining our family feel culture with strong team relationships both inside and outside of work. For this reason, we call ourselves Sumo Nottingham Family or SNF for short. We genuinely care about each other and support each other through our successes and failures, through our good times and bad. When we celebrate success, we are proud to shout about it.

We take huge pride in our inclusive working environment and in making our teams happy and comfortable at work.

We thrive on our Studio traditions, including our Friday treats, our birthday celebrations, our milestone celebrations and our socials.

Everybody in the Nottingham family has a voice and all ideas are encouraged and listened to.

Where are we?

We're just a mile outside the City Centre, ten minutes walk from the train station, with good tram and bus links. The Nottingham Cycle Superhighway is also on our doorstep as is PureGym, where we offer a free membership to staff. We also have two big supermarkets located close by, together with some fast food options, very handy for a lunchtime treat.

Nottingham is bustling, busy city of nightlife, culture, sport and stories. For the seventh year in a row, Nottingham has been awarded a Purple Flag as being recognised as one of the best nights out in the UK. It has a diverse offering of bars hidden down alleyways, under pavements, indie hotspots, cosy pubs and cocktail bars.

Visit England awarded Nottingham the Home of Sport title in 2015 and Trent Bridge International Cricket ground, the National Ice Centre, the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham Forest and Notts County football grounds are all within walking distance of the studio.

We're a cultured lot and we like to get our fix at the Theatre Royal, Royal Concert Hall and the world renowed Nottingham Playhouse where some of our greatest actors got their starts. The Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery has some incredible exhibits and, if you're a history buff, take a trip to the newly refurbished hilltop Nottingham Castle and visit the Robin Hood statue whilst there.

Further afield, Wollaton Hall and Park is an amazing venue to visit and was used as a filming location for Wayne Manor in Warner Bros' 'The Dark Knight Rises' film. We also have Sherwood Forest around 15 miles away from the city centre where you can visit the Robin Hood visitors centre and see the Major Oak.

We are so lucky that Nottingham is surrounded by glorious countryside. To the North, we are only and quick journey away from the majestic Peak District and the beautiful Vale of Belvoir sits to the East of the City.

We are confident that you'll love not only our studio but the city and its surrounding areas.

Who are Sumo Digital?

Sumo Digital is an award-winning international family of studios. Recent releases from Sumo Digital studios include: BAFTA-Award winning Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Control Ultimate Edition on Google Stadia, Apple Arcade Award-winning Little Orpheus, Hot Shot Racing, WST Snooker and Spyder.

As winners of the TIGA Star Employment Award for 2021, recipients of the GI Biz 2020 Best Places to Work Award and listed as one of the UK's 100 Best Large Companies to Work for in 2021, Sumo Digital has enjoyed 18 years of stability and growth since its formation in 2003 and continues to strive for excellence across every single project.

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