Engineering · Fully remote · Nova Scotia or PEI · Full-time

You're responsible for the code, the architecture, and the effectiveness of the programmers and AI agents who write it. Seventy percent building and solving hard problems, thirty percent leading and improving a small team.

A lead's job is to keep the codebase and the people who work in it healthy at the same time. You will spend most of your week writing code and taking on the problems nobody else can, and the rest making the programmers around you better and keeping production honest about what is possible.

You will be the first programming lead at the studio, so you will set the standards you then hold everyone to: how code is reviewed, how systems are designed, how human-first AI tooling is used, and how a small team ships without burning out.

You report to the Studio Director and, on client work, to the client's stakeholders.

What you'll do

Your camera's always on, even if theirs isn't

Split your time roughly 70/30: writing code and taking on hard problems, then mentoring and managing a small team of programmers

Work well with Production team members and settle issues between programmers and stakeholders before they become problems

Design and build game systems and gameplay, and own the architecture they sit in

Oversee and coordinate a team of programmers and the project-level processes around them

Define and maintain the team's coding standards, review process, and technical documentation

Own a project's technical direction: engine and package choices, project structure,



and the architecture of core systems

Break features down with production into estimates the team can actually hit, and flag risk early

Run code reviews and pair with programmers so the standard is taught, not just enforced

Own performance and stability targets across shipping platforms

Take part in hiring: interviews, work-sample review, and onboarding current programmers

Set how the team uses AI coding agents and tooling, and keep the output to the same standard as hand-written code

What you bring

Five or more years of Unity experience

At least three shipped commercial titles

Familiar with SOLID principles, with a strong leaning toward producing high-quality code

You're excited about AI tooling and agentic workflows, and you embrace them

You enjoy mentorship and encouraging other developers

Good-humoured, optimistic and adaptable

A servant-leader

Expert C# and a working knowledge of Unity internals: the player loop, the job system, Burst, addressables, and URP

You've led or mentored programmers before, formally or otherwise, and can describe what you would do differently

You can design a system on paper,



explain the trade-offs in plain language to a producer, and then build it

You are comfortable in the hot seat, talking to a client about what you're doing and why

You're unafraid of profiling and fixing frame-time, memory, and GC problems on a real target

Fluent with git branching strategies, code review, and CI for game builds

You've shipped through at least one platform submission: Steam, console certification, or mobile store review

You're notable for your excellent communication skills; most of our decisions are made in text

Resident of Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island

Nice to have

Multiplayer or networking experience: Netcode for GameObjects, Photon, FishNet, or client-server authority in general

Console development and certification experience (Xbox XR, PlayStation TRC, Switch lotcheck)

Experience with Unity editor tooling and designer-facing workflows

Some C++ or another engine, for perspective

You've worked in a fully remote team before

What we offer

Fully remote within Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Health and dental benefits

The hardware you need to do the job

Three weeks' vacation plus the Christmas holidays

Punk was never about who you are .It was about what you made.

To put it simply, we want you to be proud that you work for Punk Science and eager todo your best work every day.

If you need an accommodation at any point in the process, say so in yourfirst email. It will be arranged without fuss.

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📌 Lead Programmer (Nova Scotia)
🏢 Punk Science Studios
📍 Nova Scotia