A Lead Programmer is a very technically oriented role in video game development but not exclusively technical. The second part of the work in this position, which is why it is called Lead, involves leading a team that deals with programming.
There are certain specific characteristics associated with Lead Programmers who develop AAA games. AAA game implies titles with “all As”. These are games with a big budget that are expected to be a big financial success, such as Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and others. The bigger the project and the team, the more the person in this position deals with the managerial part of the job and less with the technical part.
If we bear in mind that the mentioned titles have been created for years and that multiple entire studios of several hundred employees work on them, it is clear why leading a team becomes the most important part of a Lead Programmer’s job. So, in smaller teams and on smaller projects, the focus of this role is more on the technical aspect.
Certainly, in both cases, technical knowledge is essential. A Lead Programmer must have a mix of technical knowledge and interpersonal skills to perform their job well and efficiently. It should also be emphasized that it is useful for the Lead Programmer to have a passion for video games, as this is a frequent requirement in advertisements for this position.
A Lead Programmer is a person who is at the head of a team of Programmers and is responsible for the realization of work on video games. They distribute the work within the team, give instructions and provide assistance to others in performing tasks, design a workflow so that the everything can be carried out in the best way and, of course, deal with the technical duties that the position entails.
In addition, a Lead Programmer is responsible for taking care of the team itself, which means that they must know the best ways for individual team members to develop their technical skills.
A Lead Programmer must participate in interviewing new employees because they are responsible for selecting candidates according to the criterion of their technical knowledge. At the interview, they are therefore in charge of technical questions and can assign and review technical tasks.
To understand what a Lead Programmer does, we need to look at what knowledge and skills are required for this position.
First and foremost, the Lead Programmer must have technical knowledge of object-oriented programming, which in most cases means using C++ and C# as the main programming languages for video game development.
Next on the list is knowing the tools to work with, which is where things get a little more complicated. Large companies very often have their own internal tools, which imply additional learning. Knowing external tools certainly can’t hurt, but during the onboarding of new Programmers, a training period with internal tools is almost certain, and it is the Lead Programmer who is most often in the role of a trainer for new team members.
In terms of internal tools, this article, like any other publicly available material, cannot be of much help, since they are a trade secret. In terms of publicly available tools, I would single out the following as the most significant: Swarm (Perforce), Bloomberg, Quickbuild, Jira, Confluence and Everything.
My next point on the list of essentials for a Lead Programmer would be the ability to delegate work to the appropriate Programmers and advise the team on the technical aspect of their task. When a Lead Programmer is given a mandate (a sub-phase in the development of an AAA game), it means that a certain part of the work must be completed by a defined time and at a satisfactory level of quality. This position has to manage their team so that the mandate is successfully implemented.
Furthermore, one of the most important responsibilities is the recruitment of new candidates. A Lead Programmer is responsible for defining what technical skills potential candidates should have, as well as creating a technical test. One of the main tools used for this purpose is CodinGame, which helps to make the test quickly and efficiently.
Technical skills are not enough to perform all the duties mentioned so far. As no managerial position can do without communication, neither can a Lead Programmer. This means that everyone in this position must simultaneously develop a body of skills called soft skills. These include active listening, conflict resolution, networking, time management and clear communication. These skills are often developed through general socialization during life but they can also be learned in the process of personal development and by choosing a wide range of literature on the subject.
This is just a general overview of the Lead Programmer position, and you can learn a lot more if you decide to do your own research.
It should also be borne in mind that the responsibilities within this position may differ depending on the company and its size.
Due to the rapid development of new technologies, it is entirely to be expected that the position of Lead Programmer will change in the future, which is the reality of all other technical positions as well.
That is why you must be always up-to-date and relevantly informed about every technical position that may interest you.
Ukoliko biste želeli da saznate više o samom poslu, a i da čujete više od osobe koja je zaposelna baš u ovoj ulozi, i to u domaćem ogranku Ubisoft-a, predlažemo da poslušate odličan razgovor sa Nenadom Baščarevićem.
Ono što ćete čuti već na samom početku jeste da se Nenad nije bavio objektno orijentisanim programiranjem u svojoj karijeri pre nego što je prešao u gejming industriju, pa se nadamo da to može ohrabriti svakoga da razmisli o karijeri u gejmingu, bez obzira na prethodna radna iskustva.
