Unity PC Game Programmer (Steam) — Resource Management / Modular / Data-Driven - Contract to Hire

Important upfront filter: This role is for PC games only. Please only reference PC/Steam titles in your application. If your portfolio or examples focus on mobile games, we will ignore them. About the Studio: We’re a small PC-first indie studio building games for Steam in Unity. Our long-term strategy is to develop a growing library of modular, reusable gameplay systems we can plug into multiple future projects. We already have several core systems in place and want a programmer who can expand that foundation cleanly. Focus: Resource Management & Data-Heavy Systems We are specifically looking for someone with a deep interest and substantial experience in resource management / economy games — games where the core loop revolves around resources, production chains, rates, capacities, upgrades, and optimization. This means: - You enjoy working with data-driven systems and large sets of parameters. - You’re comfortable with “moving numbers around” in the backend: production formulae, multipliers, scaling curves, soft caps, diminishing returns, etc. - You think in terms of systems and balances: how resources flow, bottlenecks form, and players progress over hours of gameplay. - You can help structure things so that designers/non-programmers can adjust values without breaking the system. What You’ll Do: - Build and extend reusable, modular Unity systems that can be carried into future PC/Steam games. - Architect and maintain resource/economy systems (production, consumption, storage, crafting, upgrades, etc.). - Implement data-driven architectures so that content and numbers live in configs/Scriptable Objects/spreadsheets rather than hard-coded. - Use Scriptable Objects heavily to drive data, configuration, and scalable content pipelines. - Improve/maintain existing architecture to keep it clean, testable, and easy to iterate on. - Evaluate Unity Asset Store / open-source solutions when they save time, and integrate them cleanly. - Write clear documentation so systems are understandable and reusable by others. Required Experience: - Shipped at least one PC game on Steam (released or Early Access). You must reference PC releases in your application. - Strong Unity C# fundamentals with real production experience. - Deep, practical understanding of Scriptable Objects (architecture patterns, not just basics). - Proven ability to create modular, decoupled, reusable code (SOLID, events, interfaces, DI patterns, etc.). - Hands-on experience with resource management / economy / simulation systems (even if it’s one subsystem in a larger game). - Comfortable owning systems end-to-end: design → implementation → iteration → polish. - Clear communication and reliable task delivery. Nice to Have: - Experience designing or implementing game economies (currencies, sinks, sources, pacing). - Comfortable working from or feeding into spreadsheets / external data sources. - Experience with custom tools/editor scripting for designers and balance tuning. - PC performance optimization experience, especially for systems-heavy games. AI-Assisted Coding Policy: - We welcome and encourage AI-assisted coding (ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) as a productivity tool. - But: You cannot rely on AI blindly. - You must fully understand what AI-generated code is doing and how it affects the architecture. - If something breaks or needs refactoring, you must be able to edit and maintain it manually. Work is organized by clear tasks/milestones with steady long-term collaboration if it’s a good fit. How to Apply: Send: - Your PC/Steam portfolio (links required). - Again: PC only. Mobile references will be ignored. - A short breakdown of a resource or progression system you built: - What the resources were, how they flowed, and how you structured the code + data. - An example of where you’ve used Scriptable Objects and/or data-driven approaches to make systems configurable. - Your availability, rate/salary expectations, and timezone. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job