Sony - managing their recruitment

Datascope manages all of SCEE's development recruitment

Excellent salary and benefits packages, based in LIVERPOOL, CAMBRIDGE and LONDON

This is the UK's largest games developer and publisher; this company has 3 UK studios and 6 branches abroad. Growth over the last 2 years means that 800 staff now achieve a turnover of £150million from some of the biggest titles in the business.

Datascope are the managing agents for all of SCEE's development recruitment across all locations. If you have any queries about the opportunities available, please contact Julien Hofer.

If it's specialist advice you seek, then please speak to Andrea Denton for programming positions, Matt Rock for artists and animators, Simon Wessely for design positions and Sarah Finn for producers/project managers.

LONDON

We are managing all of Sony Computer Entertainment's games recruitment and Studio London is a world class development studio. It has unrivalled development facilities and a creative and stimulating environment coupled with access to the best London has to offer in Soho.

ARTIST VACANCIES

Video Editor

For this role you will utilise your multimedia skills. Final Cut Pro, After Effects amongst other industry packages are your main weapons of choice.
You have a good sense of timing and a key eye for small details

Day to day tasks could range from creating videos/imagery to fit music tracks to Updating of Menu/Front End graphics in game

Please get in touch to hear more on this position

ref no: SS25956

URGENT - Technical Artist wanted

Sony Computer Entertainment are looking for a versatile, enthusiastic person willing to take on a variety of tasks within the Home Tools Support team.
You are a confident technical artist flexible enough to handle environment, character and object generation. In addition there is an element of first line support.
You are a problem solver, capable of assisting internal teams as well as 3rd party developers. This position offers a great opportunity within a high profile SCEE project.

Experience / Skills - Maya / Max experience will be considered . Working knowledge of MEL and MaxScript would be an advantageous.
- Experience with content production pipelines. e.g. scene exporting, DDS creation and light mapping techniques.
- Knowledge of the PS3 development environment is a definite advantage.

This technical art role is ready to be started now so lets get going.
ref no: ON26459

DESIGNER VACANCIES

Technical Author

Sony Computer Entertainment is seeking a technical author who is experienced at liaising with subject matter experts across teams, gathering knowledge and constructing technical documents, user guides and tutorials. The content produced will be utilised internally, globally and by third parties, so some experience with localisation and validation processes will be useful. The author would work within Sony’s Home group as a member of the existing support team, under direction of the existing senior technical author. This position offers a great opportunity within a high profile SCE project.
Responsible for: - Aiding with the update and formatting of current documentation. - Collecting information and constructing documentation from multiple teams under the direction of the Tech Support Lead. - Creating multiple versions for multiple end audiences and managing version control. - Helping to maintain documentation and knowledge-sharing. - Localization, translations. - Aiding with presentations, e-learning and tutorials.
Skills and experience needed Essential: - Strong RoboHelp / MadCap Flare experience - Comfortable with Microsoft Office 2003, version control software, HTML/CSS/XML. - Previous experience of knowledge management systems and approaches - Technically adept and unafraid of new technologies or challenges. - Methodical, detailed approach to workload, able to maintain this under pressure. - Team worker, able to communicate well and be willing to pursue tasks independently.
Preferable: - Experience with content production pipelines. - Knowledge of PS3 development and games companies. - Any experience with CMSs, Knowledge Bases, online communities, moderation a plus - Any experience with Adobe / Macromedia products a plus. - Exposure to multi-team environments.

ref no: ON26460

PROGRAMMER VACANCIES

Tools/Database Programmer

They are looking for a Tools/Database Programmer to work alongside an existing team member, primarily developing and maintaining a database application but also other tools as required. This is for SingStar.
Requirements - 2+ years C++. - 2+ years SQL. - Strong database design skills. - Familiarity with SQL stored procedures, triggers, functions and views. - Knowledge of XML technologies, including schemas, XLST, XPath etc. - Good knowledge of MFC. - Recent experience of developing database applications in a Windows environment. - Ability to gather and understand the requirements of tools end users. - Ability to maintain existing code and collaborate with other team members.
Optional requirements - C# and .net - Microsoft SQL Server admin and maintenance, including Reporting Services. - Understanding of database replication concepts.
ref no: SS13034

Speech Analysis Programmer

They are looking for a programmer to develop real-time voice analysis and speech recognition techniques for a game application. This will involve working closely with game designers to prototype new ideas. The role will also include briefing the team on the current state of the art in the field.
Requirements for the role: - PhD in speech analysis/recognition or a closely related subject. - Mathematical background. - Strong C++. - Good communication skills with managers and colleagues.
Optional requirements: - Code optimization techniques for modern SIMD computer architectures. - Experience with maintaining existing code.
ref no: SS12963

Field Application Engineer (Programmer) for Home

The studio is looking for a versatile, enthusiastic person willing to take on a variety of tasks within the Home Tools Support team. We require a confident programmer flexible enough to handle Lua scripting, C++ debugging and hardware issues. In addition there is an element of first line support. We need a problem solver, capable of assisting internal teams as well as 3rd party developers. This position offers a great opportunity within a high profile SCE project.
ref no: ON25929

API Architect

Sony Computer Entertainment is looking for an experienced Senior Programmer to continue architecting the Lua API for PLAYSTATION Home development. The job will involve creating technical designs, coordinating feature requests and guiding the expansion of the Lua API within Home. We are looking for strong technical design skills and C++. Experience in Lua and general engine programming is also highly desirable. This position offers a great opportunity within a high profile SCE project.
ref no: ON25930

Web Application Developer

Sony Computer Entertainment is looking for an experienced Web Programmer to join its tools team for PLAYSTATION Home. The job will involve maintenance, development and support on Content Management and Asset Publishing tools. They are looking for a well rounded C# developer with good exposure to MS SQLServer and ASP.NET. The candidate should have a strong programming background, ideally C++ or Java rather than PHP or VB. This position offers a great opportunity within a high profile SCE project.
ref no: ON26338

LIVERPOOL

ARTIST VACANCIES

Environment Concept Artist

Our client is currently looking for a talented Concept Artist to assist the Lead Artist and Art Director in defining the visual style of the project. Contribute to the creation of art assets required by their assigned project using advanced in-game graphics techniques. This is for a very exciting high profile project. Prerequisites:
Must exhibit excellent artistic skill and the ability to adapt to different artistic styles, with a particular affinity for futuristic environment and vehicle design.
Must demonstrate a solid knowledge of relevant 2D and 3D software (Maya and Photoshop preferred).
Must be able to take direction and work as part of a team.
Must also be able to be autonomous while working on set tasks from the schedule.
Must have the ability to problem-solve and define best work practices within their assigned area of work.

DESIGNER VACANCIES

Senior Audio Designer

They are currently looking for an experienced Audio Designer, with solid games industry audio experience, to join their studio in Liverpool. Further details to follow shortly.
Please note that audio showreels must be provided on application.

PROGRAMMER VACANCIES

Low-Level Programmer

Primary Purpose:

Work on low-level code systems that are highly optimised for the game’s target platform. Analyse any code and algorithms with a view to optimisation.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:
- Work on the scheduled tasks set out by their relevant lead.
- Produce code to quality and within the timeframes defined in the schedule.
- Communicate with their immediate group lead to ensure good working practices and continued understanding of the processes involved in the production of videogames.
- Work singularly and within a group on a major in-game subsystem.
- Learn advanced techniques which could be used to improve the overall quality or production pipelines of current or future projects.
- Communicate their work and the technologies used internally.
- Design and maintenance of low-level systems such as memory manager, vector maths, file serving, etc.
- Work on platform specific optimisations of any game code.
Skills:
- Work on the scheduled tasks set out by their relevant lead.
- Produce code to quality and within the timeframes defined in the schedule.
- Communicate with their immediate group lead to ensure good working practices and continued understanding of the processes involved in the production of videogames.
- Must have worked on at least two published titles (or equivalent experience in the games industry or a relevant field).
- Must demonstrate an understanding of cache types, DMA, SIMD, code parallelisation, threading primitives and asynchronous file I/O.
- Ideally, have knowledge of PS3 SPU systems and coding.
- Must demonstrate a good knowledge of assembly - ideally PS3 - and have an understanding of the use of compiler intrinsics.
- Must demonstrate a solid knowledge of programming tools - IDE’s, Debuggers and version control software.
- Must be able to take direction and work as part of a team.
- Must also be able to work autonomously on set tasks from the schedule.
- Must be able to judge the general complexity of tasks and give a conservative estimate of the time expected to complete the task.

Junior Server Programmer

PURPOSE OF JOB:

The candidate would be aiding more senior programmers with implementing server-side features. The job would be focused toward server code but provide opportunities for a progression towards a more game oriented role.

CORE COMPETENCIES

- Prioritisation
- Pro-active
- Organisation skills
- Ability to grasp new concepts quickly.

Duties and Responsibilities

- Implementation of servlets in an existing server framework.
- Liaising with game programmers, to provide relevant interfaces.
- Configuring leader boards, organising per player storage.

Skills and Experience:

- Good communication skills.
- Ability to work in a team.
- Good problem solving skills.
- Understanding of multi-user environment issues and techniques for writing stable distributed systems.
- Ability to think on feet and adapt to design changes and SDK differences.
- Ability to work on own initiative and unsupervised
- Previous Java and C++/C programming skills preferred.

CAMBRIDGE

No current vacancies, check back soon!

For Producers contact Sarah	- email sarah@datascope.co.uk
For Programmers contact Andrea	- email prog@datascope.co.uk
For Artists/Animators contact Matt	- email matt@datascope.co.uk
For Games Designers contact Simon	- email Simon@datascope.co.uk