Lead DevOps Engineer at PlayQ

Our Mission: 

To capture the hearts and minds of millions of players across the world by creating unforgettable games powered by the best technology.

About Us:

PlayQ is a rapidly growing global entertainment and technology company delivering high-quality mobile titles and innovative game development solutions to a worldwide audience. Our games have been downloaded more than 60 million times across the globe, with millions of users playing every day! 

Our dedicated teams, based in downtown Santa Monica, CA, work together to craft the clever, visually stunning, and unforgettable experiences that our players love. Our emphasis on individual leadership means each team member has the opportunity to make a big impact, while our commitment to creative freedom gives them the ability to create whatever they can imagine. 

It’s this mindset that has led us to develop our own IP, infuse games with rich storytelling, build our own development tools, and solve the deepest technical challenges - all in the name of disrupting the mobile gaming landscape.

Why you'll want to come to work:

As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in spearheading the design, implementation, and maintenance of robust and scalable infrastructure solutions. You will manage DevOps engineering projects on the team, collaborate closely with our global game and services development teams, and automate processes to enhance overall company efficiency. You will be at the forefront of overseeing the design, creation and management of CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and backend service deployments to ensure seamless and automated delivery of applications.

In this role, you will be instrumental in shaping the technological landscape, fostering innovation, and contributing to the success of PlayQ’s mission. You’d be an ideal fit for this role if you:

• Possess a visionary mindset, shaping high-level architectures that power the future of gaming infrastructure.
• Inspire and drive global teams of engineers, translating blueprints into resilient, scalable systems with a "can-do" attitude.
• Roll up your sleeves and dive into technical challenges, leading by example and fostering a hands-on and solutions focused approach.
• Display a proven track record of driving results, demonstrably reducing deployment time and optimizing performance
• Communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences, collaborating seamlessly with global game and service development teams.
• Possess a passion for learning and innovation, staying ahead of the curve in cloud technologies and DevOps best practices.
• Embrace a fast-paced, collaborative environment, thriving in a culture where ideas are valued and teamwork is paramount.

What you'll get to create:

• Lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of highly scalable and secure infrastructure solutions, collaborating closely with development teams to automate manual processes and boost overall team efficiency.
• Architect and oversee efficient CI/CD pipelines built with TeamCity and GitHub Actions, ensuring seamless and automated delivery of game and service updates.
• Architect and lead the development of our Python-based interactive Slack bot, ensuring scalability, robustness, and seamless integration with our internal systems and workflows.
• Leverage proficiency in Bash, Python, and Kotlin to build and maintain robust automation scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and IaC configurations.
• Architect and implement a robust, scalable infrastructure for game deployment using Harness, Terraform, and AWS cloud platform tools (EKS, S3, CloudFront, etc.).
• Partner with cross-functional teams and engineers to streamline build and deployment processes, aligning them with business objectives.
• Drive effective communication with stakeholders, providing regular updates and actionable insights into DevOps initiatives.
• Proactively identify and implement innovative CI/CD and IaC tools and processes to continuously optimize workflows and efficiency.
• Manage and document deployment processes and automation, fostering transparency and maintainability.
• Proactively identify and implement innovative CI/CD tools and processes to continuously optimize workflows and efficiency.
• Perform ongoing competitive research into industry best practices.
• Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering a culture of growth and knowledge sharing.
  

What you'll bring to the team: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 8+ years of Software Development or DevOps experience
• 3+ years of experience as an engineering lead, delegating tasks to key contributors 
• 3+ years of experience developing and maintaining Python scripts for automation tasks, CI/CD pipelines, and API integrations
• Proven success in leading multiple engineering projects from execution to completion on time and within budget
• Proven expertise in predicting obstacles and creating project plans that mitigate against risk and disruption
• Strong expertise in cloud platforms such as AWS.
• Expert proficiency in infrastructure as code (IaC) using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Proven success in leveraging containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
• In-depth knowledge of CI/CD and IaC orchestration tools (TeamCity, Harness), version control systems (GitHub), and automated testing
• Solid understanding of security best practices and compliance standards
• Ability to effectively communicate complex, technical information to non-technical teams
• Ability to independently troubleshoot and solution for common engineering challenges

If you gotten this far, we hope you're feeling excited about this role. Even if you don't feel you meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. We're eager to meet people who believe in PlayQ's mission and can contribute to our team in a variety of ways—not just candidates who check all the boxes.

What we can offer you:

• Competitive compensation and equity options
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, long term disability & pet insurance
• Flexible time off
• Unmatched learning opportunities and mission driven team
• Advancement and mentorship opportunities
• 401K plan with company match
• Flexible Workplace: PlayQ’s workplace includes a combination of both in-office, hybrid and remote roles. Our flexible approach to the workplace experience, internal comms, and tech stack promote collaboration, communication, and camaraderie!
• Brand new creative office space equipped with tons of natural light, communal areas for collaboration and free parking
• Walking distance to restaurants, coffee shops, and the metro
• Stocked kitchen with snacks and beverages
• Monthly team building events and cross departmental lunches
• Help build and support awesome GAMES. For a living! Who doesn't love games?

At PlayQ, we leverage competitive benchmarking data when setting each role’s base pay range. Individual base salary will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, scope of role, business need and geographic location.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$135,000-$180,000 USD

Additional information:

• In-office location: Santa Monica, CA
• This role is open to remote employees located in select US states including California, Washington, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Georgia.
• This role is offered as a full time position.

Interested? Please get in touch!