Backend Developer

About The Company

Our client is a dynamic game development studio creating engaging, high-performance gaming experiences for a global audience. Operating in a collaborative and cross-cultural environment, they bring together technology, art, and design to build robust game worlds. They are dedicated to supporting their team's technical growth while delivering successful, sustainable titles.

The Role - What You'll Do

In this role, you will take ownership of the backend architecture for our client's game systems. You will analyze complex business and game requirements to design, implement, and optimize scalable technical solutions. This is an engineering-focused role where you will build modern systems primarily in Golang, maintain existing frameworks in PHP, and manage containerized deployments.

• Architecture & Implementation: Design, build, and optimize high-performance backend architectures and microservices.
• Core Development: Utilize Golang for new feature development while maintaining and enhancing legacy systems using PHP.
• Database & Caching Management: Work extensively with MySQL and PostgreSQL (including deep performance tuning) and implement caching mechanisms using Redis and Memcached.
• DevOps & Infrastructure: Design robust APIs and leverage Docker and Kubernetes for seamless containerization and orchestration within a Linux environment.
• Requirement Translation: Deconstruct complex game requirements and translate them into clean, reliable technical specifications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with designers, project managers, and frontend developers to align backend systems with gameplay needs.

What You Bring - Key Skills & Traits Essential

• Industry Experience: A minimum of 5 years of relevant backend development experience, preferably within a fast-paced game or product environment.
• Technical Stack Mastery: Practical experience with Golang, proficiency in PHP, and comfort working daily in a Linux environment.
• System Design Knowledge: Strong understanding of API design, microservices architecture, and backend systems tailored for turn-based or real-time games.
• Data & Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL), caching tools (Redis/Memcached), and container tools (Docker/Kubernetes).
• Problem Solving: A proven ability to troubleshoot complex problems, identify root causes, and utilize debugging tools effectively.
• Education & Citizenship: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (or equivalent experience).
• Candidates must have valid legal rights to work in New Zealand (NZ Citizen, Permanent Resident, Resident, Australian Citizen, or a valid Work Visa).
• Communication: Exceptional cross-cultural communication skills. Absolute proficiency in English is required.

Desirable

• Game Tech Familiarity: Understanding of game-specific server frameworks and real-time communication protocols.
• Multilingual Skills: Depending on project regions, proficiency in local languages such as Mandarin or Cantonese is highly advantageous for international collaboration.
• Team-First Mindset: A positive, collaborative approach to peer reviews, teamwork, and cross-functional problem-solving.

Perks & Culture

• Supportive, technically driven workplace where backend engineering directly shapes player experiences.
• Collaborative and inclusive cross-cultural team environment.
• Clear opportunities to tackle complex scaling challenges and grow your career in game dev infrastructure.