Research Fellow Game Developer at University of Hertfordshire

FTE: between 1.0 FTE (37 hours per week) and 0.8 FTE (29.6 hours per week)

Duration of Contract: Fixed term until March 2025.

Salary:  UH7 £37,099 per annum pro rata with potential to progress to £44,263 pa pro rata by annual increments

Annual Leave: 35 days pro rata plus standard public holidays and an additional 4 days including the closure of our office between Christmas and New Year

Location: De Havilland Campus, Hatfield

The Big Data Technologies and Innovation Laboratory at the University of Hertfordshire is working with industry and academic partners on an Innovate UK funded project, Arvast, which aims to use digital means to improve modern methods of construction (MMC). The Game Developer will support the research carried out by Big Data Technologies and Innovation Laboratory on multiple funded projects including ARVAST. ARVAST will minimise the need for repeated training and support the elimination of error using augmented-reality (AR) in conjunction with deep-learning algorithms, video analytics, big data analytics, natural language processing (NLP) and cloud computing.

Main duties and responsibilities:

You will be responsible for the design, development and implementation of high-quality games using the Unity game engine, following industry best practices, implementing game mechanics, gameplay systems, user interfaces, optimizing game performance, memory usage, and load times across multiple platforms. You will work collaboratively with game designers, artists and developers to ensure seamless integration of game elements. You will be required to contribute to code reviews, providing feedback to help improve code quality.  You will play a key part in troubleshooting and debugging to resolve issues with game performance and functionality. Your role as Game developer will include project planning, review meetings, maintenance of clear concise documentation for game systems and components and delivering presentations detailing results to key stakeholders in the form of conferences and seminars. You will be expected to effectively contribute to the management of the research project, effectively liaising with project partners throughout. 

Skills & experience

You will have substantial proven experience in game development using Unity or any other engine, and experience with multiplayer and networking in games. You should possess good level of skill with extensive knowledge of Unity and Unity3D software programs. You should have fundamental knowledge of 3D development and physics of the integrated game. You will have previous experience with version control systems e.g. GIT. You will be able to write clean, efficient code, adapt well to new technologies and game engines, possess excellent time management and organization skills whilst working with autonomy.

Qualifications required.

Educated with a minimum of a Degree or professional qualification in a construction, computing or a related course

Please view the job description and person specification for a full list of the duties and essential criteria. Please attach a personal statement showing clearly how your skills and experience match the Person Specification.

An appointment to this role may require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.

This post cannot be visa sponsored unless the applicant has a PhD / Doctorate.