Principal Server Developer

Do you enjoy solving complex technical challenges and shaping the backend architecture of a live game where things move quickly and priorities change regularly?

As a Principal Server Engineer at Snowprint, you'll play an important role in shaping the backend architecture and systems that power Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus. You'll combine hands-on development with technical leadership, influencing how we design, build, and evolve our backend solutions. In a live game, there's always something new to solve, and your work can have a direct impact on both the game and its players.

You'll join a small, experienced backend team where you'll have a high level of responsibility and influence. The work is varied, and you'll move between architectural decisions, feature development, infrastructure, and solving issues in the live environment. We work in a fast-paced setting where requirements and priorities can change regularly, so being able to assess situations, make decisions, and move things forward is an important part of the role.

At Snowprint, we believe that kindness, curiosity, collaboration, and taking ownership are key to making great games. We care about the player experience and work closely across disciplines to build and improve our games.

What you'll be doing

You'll shape the architecture and technical direction of our backend systems, designing solutions that support both current game features and future needs. You'll take the lead on complex technical challenges, from exploring different approaches and making architectural decisions to hands-on development and implementation.

You'll work on both player-facing features and the systems, tooling, and infrastructure behind them. A significant part of your role will involve owning and evolving our cloud infrastructure, working with AWS and infrastructure-as-code. You'll help improve how our systems are built and operated, while also contributing to security and compliance initiatives together with our specialists.

You'll work closely with other developers, designers, and disciplines to shape technical solutions and solve problems as they arise. You'll also play an important role in the technical development of the team, sharing knowledge, challenging ideas, and providing technical guidance. You'll investigate issues in both development and live environments, participate in playtests, and take part in on-call work.

The pace can be high, and priorities can change quickly. You'll need to be comfortable moving between long-term technical improvements and immediate challenges, helping the team make sound decisions while keeping development moving forward.

Is this you?

• You're a highly experienced server/backend engineer with a strong background in designing, building, and operating complex backend systems. You're fluent in Java and/or Kotlin and have experience working with live services, preferably within gaming or LiveOps.
• You have experience shaping backend architecture and making technical decisions that balance immediate requirements with long-term scalability, performance, and maintainability.
• You have hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure, ideally AWS, and are comfortable owning and maintaining cloud environments using infrastructure-as-code.
• You're comfortable with the demands of live development, including troubleshooting production issues, participating in on-call work, and balancing immediate problems with longer-term improvements. You enjoy working in an environment where things move quickly and requirements can change.
• You're a strong technical voice who enjoys sharing knowledge and challenging ideas. You communicate clearly, can explain complex technical decisions to people from different disciplines, and enjoy helping others develop their technical skills. You're curious, pragmatic, and always looking for ways to improve what you build and how you work.

Where you’ll work

Our Berlin studio is located in Mitte, and we work in a hybrid setup. We work from the office on Tuesdays and Fridays to support collaboration and social interaction, while other days offer flexibility depending on where you work best. We provide the setup and tools you need to work comfortably both at home and in the studio.

About Snowprint Studios

Snowprint Studios believes great games are created by teams of talented, kind and creative individuals in a friendly, supportive and inspiring environment - while maintaining a sustainable life-work balance. For more information on Snowprint Studios go to http://snowprintstudios.com and follow us on Facebook.

At Snowprint Studios, we embrace diversity both in the worlds we create and in our workplace. Join us in shaping the future of gaming!

• Pocket Gamer Awards Winner ‘Mobile game of the year’ and ‘Best strategy game’ 2022

** Pocket Gamer Awards Winner 'Best game we are still playing’ 2024 & 2026

* Pocket Gamer Awards Finalist, ‘Best developer’ 2025

** Pocket Gamer Awards Winner, ‘Best updated game’ & ‘Best community’ 2026

Good to know

We are an international company with many nationalities represented. Our company language is English, so your application should therefore be in English.