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VR Technical Director


IHMC is seeking a talented hands on VR Technical Director with a strong Gameplay Engineering background to help build the IHMC VR Team and develop a collaborative VR prototyping tool, supporting multiple projects across the IHMC.

We are building a VR Workbench, based on IHMC’s existing work in Shared Space VR Collaboration, as a Digital Engineering tool for team collaboration and product prototyping. This is based on our extensive work using VR for Robotics development, and will support specific upcoming projects in team collaboration and VR prototyping. Additionally the VR Workbench will be featured in an upcoming Mars mission astronaut health study, awarded by NASA to use Shared Space VR Technology to improve performance, behavioral health, sensorimotor function and team efficacy for extended duration missions.

This candidate will work full time with the VR team on various projects and platforms. Roles and responsibilities are varied, and include: lead and mentor team to design and develop performant production ready Gameplay systems based on concepts and prototypes, establish development pipelines to insure rapid product iterations and take a proactive role in building a creative productive VR center of excellence at the IHMC.

As IHMC is first and foremost a research institute, this candidate will have opportunities to gain experiences and try new things, both with a varied set of responsibilities and through functions like the IHMC lecture series and regular learning lunches.

Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate will report to the VR Workbench Principle Investigator and must be passionate about VR, dedicated to writing clean, readable software, and have 5 or more years experience building Games or Virtual Reality. Candidates should have experience with standard software engineering practices and shipped Games in a senior team lead capacity. The Ideal candidate will be able to jump into development early on, but be able to transition into a leadership role as the team expands.
Preference will be given to candidates willing to relocate to Pensacola, FL ( https:// www.visitpensacola.com/ ) and have experience designing gameplay for Unity DOTS, render pipelines, and/or extensive experience building Interactive teams. Applicants must have good communication and documentation skills, and thrive in both a team and individual environment.

Responsibilities
  • Lead a team of 5-15 engineers as part of a cross-disciplinary game development team
  • Coordinate with Executive Team, Principle Investigators (PIs) and other project leadership to identify team needs, set team goals and feature specifications
  • Determine team policy and practice with all technical matters – specs for art and design, code standards, code reviews, etc. within the framework of overall company best practices
  • Collaborate with other project PIs and Architect(s) on shared company technology and process decisions
  • Help build the VR Workbench team, including interviewing, hiring engineers
  • Mentor and develop engineering talent within the team
  • Lead and mentor team to develop strong gameplay systems
  • Convert Unity prototypes and/or Wireframes designs into production ready
  • Gameplay systems
  • Establish Game Development pipeline, Asset Management and repositories.

Required Qualifications:
  • US Citizen or Green Card
  • Experience with 3D Gameplay Pipelines and Best Practices
  • Portfolio of shipped game titles
  • 5+ years programmer experience
  • Shipped at least one PC and/or Console game in Senior and/or Lead capacity
  • Excellent skills in C#/C++ programming and object-oriented architecture
  • Excellent Math Skills
  • Detail-oriented planner. Sound technical judgement in estimating task
  • complexity
  • Strong personal communication skills
  • Impeccable work ethic and commitment to excellence

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Preference given to Candidates willing to relocate to Pensacola FL ( https://www.visitpensacola.com/ )
  • Proven games industry experience, with a Senior and/or Lead credit on at least one published title
  • Inside out understanding of Game Engines (Unity, Unreal, etc)
  • BS/MS in Computer Science and/or related field
  • Experience with VR Development
  • Experience optimizing for Mobile
  • Experience creating cross play between mobile and PC systems.
  • Multiplayer Network Architecture and development
  • Experience as an Engineering Manager leading teams of 5-15.

Personal attributes:
  • Able to think creatively and resolve technical challenges and limitations.
  • Excellent communication skills at all levels, both on a technical and creative basis.
  • Artistically as well as technically inclined
  • Strong time management & organization skills.
  • Strong teamwork ethic

To Apply:
Send an email to robotjobs@ihmc.us with the subject line “VR Technical Director – YourLastName YourFirstName” and include the following:
  1. Current resume in pdf format. Name your file: “YourLastName_Resume.pdf”.
  2. Cover letter in pdf format. Name your file: “YourLastName_CoverLetter.pdf”

In the cover letter:
  • Explain why you meet the qualifications
  • Let us know if you are willing to relocate to Pensacola, FL
  • List Titles you have shipped and your role in the production
  • Provide email and phone number for three (3) professional references.

Questions: robotjobs@ihmc.us

Location: Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, FL.

Preference will be given to candidates willing to work on site if selected.

IHMC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.