Rare is a one-of-a-kind game studio where we create the kind of games the world doesn't have, games that are uniquely Rare. Working here offers opportunities unlike anywhere else. You'll be providing players with unforgettable shared experiences in games loved by millions worldwide. Our pirate adventure Sea of Thieves, launched in 2018, is still going strong and recently won a Bafta award for Best Evolving Game. Alongside that we're busy creating our next magical world, Everwild, announced in 2019 to a global audience.
We strive to make Rare an amazing place to work, embracing a culture of respect and building a supportive environment for our developers. Our custom-built Twycross studio is situated in the beautiful English countryside, surrounded by woodland and wildlife, with plenty of room for us to grow. Studio benefits are catered to making life easier for staff, including flexible working, a bonus scheme, industry-leading pension and healthcare packages, mental health initiatives and free events for employees and their families.
By joining Rare, you'll be joining one of the finest studios in the industry with support from the wider Xbox Game Studios network. We're always on the lookout for exceptional people who can bring their expertise and unique thinking to help make our team even stronger.
Could you be our new Language Localisation Quality Manager for Rare? This fundamental position will drive a key accessibility aspect for our projects (currently Sea of Thieves and Everwild) and will strengthen our development team as we prepare for the future.
You would be based at our Rare Studio at Twycross, UK, although would initially be based externally whilst we work from home and would be offered flexible location arrangements subsequently to engage with our internal teams and external partners.
Responsibilities
ROLE PURPOSE
At Rare we develop games that have an ongoing, regular release schedule and that support an increasingly wide range of languages. We strive for the highest quality experiences possible and are looking for someone to ensure our international customers enjoy that same experience.
This Language Localisation Quality Manager role would be unique within Rare and have responsibility and ownership for defining and driving good process, reducing delivery risk, overseeing quality compliance, and learning from issues to continually improve our internal and external production methods.
We are fully committed to keeping staff safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, all our teams are currently working from home. The support and wellbeing of all staff is paramount to our success, as well as ensuring each employee can thrive and carry-on building games in times of uncertainty. As a result, we do ask that any applicants have sufficient broadband/fibre infrastructure at home, to potentially transfer several gigabytes of data each working day.
You will be self-organised but will work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary development team around you and represent our customers within development. In particular, you will work with Production and Design Leads to assist in the planning, guidance and sign-off of text and audio content and all associated language translation.
You will work to eliminate risk of localisation delivery, including evaluating upcoming planned features and their requirements to ship.
Can you define a process change that reduces the risk/complexity of delivery? Have you experience with emergent open-world games? Will you evangelise quality best-practice throughout development whilst being sympathetic to wider project requirements?
You will have access to a range of challenges that will test and broaden your experience whilst being part of a team of friendly, highly talented developers who like nothing better than sharing their own challenges and their experiences with you.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Organising and driving an efficient localisation schedule with our development teams and external localisation partner(s),
- Developing a strong pipeline for text and audio content development and working with production to tailor compliance,
- Evaluating text additions and alterations as we continue to operate our ongoing service schedule, and ensuring that external localisation partners receive context for complex and abstract text to improve their localisation processes,
- Building and driving the development of a” Standard Library” of regular, abstract, or key terms to ensure localisation consistency during longer-term development,
- Driving alignment of messaging across languages between all customer facing products (game, website, PR communications etc.),
- Ensuring a robust approach is employed by all key players, whilst allowing sympathetic flexibility on occasion,
- Promoting best practice in development to maintain high standards of production and delivery,
- Overseeing a Quality approach to localisation, with processes to improve and maintain standards longer term,
- Seeking feedback from customers and development staff on discovered quality or process issues and driving rectification and improvement,
- Being the key contact at Rare for all localisation enquiries.
You will be “improving our games and also improving the process for making them”.
Providing a positive and professional attitude under pressure, demonstrating integrity and being a role model for others.
Qualifications
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Previous Localisation Production experience would be highly desirable, particularly candidates who have driven process, schedule, and quality successfully for a range of languages simultaneously, and on products that are regularly updated. Strong candidates will have previous experience working on a service or other online multiplayer title and also working closely with a cross-discipline development team.
A minimum of 2 years’ experience in agile game development teams with at least 1 product shipped, however if you have a comparable and sympathetic level of experience from a non-gaming background then we can discuss.
You are passionate but level-headed, self-motivated, articulate, organised, a collaborative team player, investigative, committed to self-improvement. You can discuss the product development processes you have experienced with confidence and how you have influenced them.
This role may also provide a pathway for a Games Tester to step into a more production-focussed role, or a Producer to stretch their current skills and take ownership of this function across multiple high-profile projects.
DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS
Whilst multi-lingual capabilities are not mandatory, they may provide beneficial levels of insight into the localisation process. However, the role is fundamentally to work with skilled Localisation teams to provide content.
You may have experience working with bug tracking solutions (preferably Azure DevOps).
Experience working within a development team, and close to other disciplines such as Production or Design is beneficial.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
Benefits and Perks
- Industry leading healthcare
- Savings and investments
- Giving programs
- Educational resources
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Opportunities to network and connect
- Discounts on products and services
- Generous time away
