Hybrid - Sunderland - Perm

Join the Exciting Journey at tombola!

We’re looking for a Lead Game Developer to join our brilliant Game Studio team here at tombola.

This is a great opportunity to step into a leadership role within a team that builds everything in house. The role has opened up due to an internal promotion, which is always something we love to see at tombola, and now we’re looking for someone ready to take that next step in their career.

You’ll be joining a collaborative studio where you’ll lead a small squad of developers, working closely with designers, product and other stakeholders to deliver brilliant games for our players. Stakeholder management is a big part of the role, so we’re looking for someone who enjoys communicating ideas, bringing people together and helping move projects forward.

This role is perfect for someone who enjoys leading people while still staying close to the tech. You’ll be mentoring and coaching developers, helping your squad grow and succeed, while also remaining hands on with development and playing a key role in driving features and projects forward.

If you’ve already been mentoring others, coaching teammates or taking ownership of projects, this could be a fantastic step into a more formal leadership position.

We follow a hybrid way of working, with the team coming together in our Sunderland office three days a week to collaborate, share ideas and spend time with the wider Game Studio. The other two days offer flexibility to work from home.

Find your bounce at tombola!

At tombola, we're not just another player in the game. We're the creators of the game. Our approach is revolutionary. We craft every element of our software in house, from concept to execution. We take pride in the ingenuity of our developers and designers, united by their passion for pushing boundaries and shaping the future.

It’s not just our digital bingo balls that have loads of bounce. Our people do too. Whatever your role, it’s the kind of place that can put a spring in your step.

Whether you're developing game mechanics, keeping our players safe, testing our products or sponsoring one of the UK's biggest TV shows, how high and how far you bounce really is up to you.

What do we offer?

We champion a culture of inclusivity, flexibility, personal development and mental wellbeing.

As well as a salary that will be more than agreeable for you, we offer market leading benefits such as quarterly bonus, tombola merch, free breakfast and lunches in the office, private healthcare, hybrid working and much more.

You can find out more about our benefits and what it's like to work for us here.

Sounds great! What will I be doing?

You will be responsible for helping to increase the capacity of the game studio by taking on some responsibility for people management and personal development for a small squad of developers.

We want squad leads who are focused on delivering the best products possible to our customers while developing others to be the best they can be. Someone who is able to overcome challenges, deal with pressure and make everyone around you a better employee and person. Someone who is focused on helping their team lead build the best team possible.

We’re looking for someone with an "anything is possible" mindset. Impossible is just a challenge.

What does "good" look like for us?

• An established Senior Developer with leadership experience
• Able to deliver effective and engaging 1 to 1s to your squad
• Responsible for managing holidays and absence for your squad
• A good communicator who can express ideas clearly and work with non technical colleagues
• Able to give effective feedback during code reviews
• Keen to learn. tombola do a lot of things other companies don't, so there is a lot to learn
• An agent for change who looks for better ways of working and suggests improvements
• Passionate about our customers experience and delivering quality software solutions
• Able to mentor more junior members of the team
• Able to lead small teams on features and projects
• Keen to keep up with industry trends
• Open to using AI as part of your workflow and exploring innovative ways it can augment our processes and pipelines