Established in 2019, Sumo Leamington is led by a team of industry veterans with a wealth of experience in the games industry.

With three core specialisms: service-based games, free to play titles and mobile, the team at Sumo Leamington are focussed on creating games which players keep coming back to – day after day, year after year.

As winners of the TIGA Star Employment Award for 2021, recipients of the GI Biz 2020 Best Places to Work Award and listed as one of the UK’s 100 Best Large Companies to Work for in 2021, Sumo Digital has enjoyed 18 years of stability and growth since its formation in 2003 and continues to strive for excellence across every single project.

The team at Sumo Leamington is growing, and we’re looking for the industry’s brightest stars to help bring a series of incredible projects to life.

The role @ Sumo

We are looking for an enthusiastic and talented programmer to join our backend team and to contribute to our AAA games projects. You will design, develop and maintain scalable backend services to support a high number of concurrent users, providing client libraries to allow client-side programmers to interface with these services.

Key responsibilities

Become a developer on a multiplayer-only PC game
Implement backend features for the game with performant and maintainable code. Here are some examples of areas you might work on:
Collaborate with the game development team to understand backend requirements, delivering a scalable and resilient backend infrastructure that can scale to the demands of a high concurrent player count.
Develop systems to deploy game servers and monitor and maintain their health and performance, in development and production environments
Help the team develop and document the backend architecture of the product

What we would like from you

If you have experience in some or most of the skills below, we’d love to hear from you. The array of Server & Cloud technology in use in modern software is near infinite, so the following list should be viewed as an example of the typical technology we use in projects at our studio, but we would encourage applicants who have experience of any other areas of backend development, as your experience is valuable, and we are mindful that good developers can learn and adapt quickly.
Experience using Cloud Services, any one or more of:
Experience with production-level cloud infrastructure at scale.
Any one or more of the programming languages:
Docker
Linux/Unix platforms
Databases
Shell scripting
Git
Reviewing other programmers code & providing constructive feedback and checks.
Strong technical documentation skills.
Working with various project stakeholders to understand & define clear requirements.

Other useful (but non-essential) experience

Task management & ticketing systems such as JIRA.
Confluence.
Development using the Unity game engine
Experience in the videogame industry
Infrastructure-As-Code

Benefits of working at Sumo Leamington Spa

Option to work fully remotely, or with occasional office visits if you wish.
We provide all our developers with top of the range development hardware
Management training program
1 day per month, everyone in the studio participates in our Studio Learning Day, where everyone can learn new skills which are relevant to their role.
Work with an incredibly friendly & diverse team.
A great work/life balance, with No Crunch policy.
Regular 1-on-1 meetings with your manager, to make sure we're listening to you & supporting you.

What We Offer:

Annual Bonus & Annual Salary Reviews
Electric Car Scheme
Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme
Flexible Working
27 Days Holiday, including your birthday a duvet day and Christmas
Holiday ‘buy and sell’ scheme
Access to 4,000 Udemy Courses, The Gnomen Workshop, GDC Vault and more
Enhanced Mat/Paternity & Adoption pay
Free Life Assurance - 4x Salary
Free Income Protection Scheme -up to 75%
Free Dental Insurance
Supportive Employee Assistance Programme with confidential 24/7/365 helpline & app
Access remote GP, Mental Health, Physio appointments & medical second opinions
Additional flexible benefits scheme
Cycle to Work Scheme
Mental Health First Aiders
Payroll Giving Scheme
Game & Book Libraries
Long service & project completion awards
Wrap Parties
Alternative Travel Prize Draw
The Sumo GameJam
Great family events
Studio clubs, inc. running, board games, film…
Life Drawing
Yoga Classes
Free fruit and drinks
Employee Referral Bonus
Career Development
Relocation Support to the UK
Visa Sponsorship

Where do we stand on diversity?

At Sumo, we want to enable everyone to bring their full, authentic selves to work every single day. We acknowledge that the games industry is far from perfect and a global organisation with people all over the world, from all kinds of backgrounds, we know it’s part of our duty to provide everyone at Sumo with a safe, accepting and affirming working environment.

We encourage and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

More about Sumo Leamington:

Sumo Leamington is situated just outside of the town centre and was recently awarded the Games Industry BIZ Best Diversity Award – a testament to its ongoing commitment to creating a home for everyone. The Studio features many onsite facilities – everything needed for the team to create the world’s best games!

Ranked the happiest town to live in two official polls, Leamington Spa is a hidden gem nestled amongst the stunning countryside of Warwickshire and remains a hotspot for talented individuals and creative minds within the games industry. Those living in Leamington Spa can enjoy:

Local attractions such as Jepson Gardens and the Royal Pump Rooms
A rich and diverse culture
An expansive history and stunning architecture
Picturesque scenery, outstanding gardens and walking routes
Beautiful museums and galleries

More about Sumo Digital:

Sumo Digital is an award-winning international family of studios. Recent releases from Sumo Digital studios include: BAFTA-Award winning Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Control Ultimate Edition on Google Stadia, Apple Arcade Award-winning Little Orpheus, Hot Shot Racing, WST Snooker and Spyder.