About the Role
Big Viking Games is hiring an Intermediate Software Engineer to build and maintain YoWorld and Fish World, our long-running live-service virtual worlds.
As an Intermediate Software Engineer on these projects, you'll work primarily on the front end utilizing both a TypeScript and HTML5 game client and occasionally work on a PHP backend - shipping features and fixes to a live player base on a weekly cadence. Reporting to the Engineering Manager, you'll work alongside a senior team on a mature, large-scale codebase where your work goes live in front of players quickly.
We operate in an AI-forward environment focused on scaling output, so you're someone who's comfortable reaching for modern AI tooling to move faster without cutting corners on quality.
What You'll Do
• Write robust, efficient, and maintainable code across our stack - TypeScript, HTML5, Javascript, and PHP.
• Build and maintain tools and client features in JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Work with network code - sockets and REST APIs - and asynchronous, real-time systems.
• Review code and give constructive feedback to other developers.
• Use performance profilers (memory analyzers, CPU profilers, network sniffers) to diagnose and improve existing code.
• Investigate and resolve difficult bugs in production.
• Work within our CI/CD workflow (GitHub Actions, Docker) following modern best practices.
Requirements
What You Bring
• 3+ years of professional software development experience.
• A track record of shipping multiple features in a live production environment.
• Solid command of at least one of Java, TypeScript, or PHP, and the ability to work across all three.
• Comfort writing efficient SQL and reasoning about caching and data-store trade-offs.
• A sound understanding of algorithmic complexity, general system architecture, and source control.
• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering is strongly preferred.
Nice to Have
• HTMX experience.
• ActionScript and flash experience.
• PHP experience.
• Strong SQL/MariaDB experience
• Experience with Redis, Memcached
• Experience with Docker, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Comfort working in large, long-lived codebases and improving them incrementally.
• Comfort using AI coding assistants (e.g., Claude) in a real workflow.
• Free-to-play or live-service game development experience.
Benefits
Compensation
The expected compensation range for this role is $80,000 - $105,000 CAD, based on experience, qualifications, and overall fit.
Benefits
Comprehensive benefits package (health, dental, and vision) including HSA/WSA spending account from Day One
Participation in the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP)
RRSP participation and matching
15 Vacation Days + 10 Wellness Days