2K Games Dublin - Fast Track Engineering Graduate Programme

2K Games

Employer info

Graduate scheme

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€45,000

Who We Are

2K Games Dublin is a hub focused on engineering, performance marketing, commercial strategy, product development & design, data engineering and data science/analytics and is part of the 2K Games group of companies.

2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming devices and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets. 2K is a leading publisher of today’s most popular gaming genres and most well-known for critically acclaimed game franchises like NBA 2K, WWE 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Evolve, XCOM and the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization.

Who We Recruit

We look for graduates with technical backgrounds to work in our business. The 2K team in Dublin is diverse and comes from a range of backgrounds including: science, economics, IT, marketing, engineering, philosophy, psychology and business.

We are looking for graduates with the skills required to enter the world of engineering and creating computer games.

Compensation and opportunities

The starting salary for the graduate programme is €45,000, with salary reviews every six months. If you start the grad programme today, you could be making €90,000 in three years.

As well as the salary, we offer private medical insurance, dental insurance, pension scheme, income protection, monthly fitness allowance, work phone, wellness schemes, an office gym and other benefits. Our office looks out onto Iveagh Gardens, in the heart of Dublin city.

Outside of the graduate programme there are loads of opportunities within the organisation for future permanent roles. Our graduates go on to do amazing things for 2K.

How We Recruit

A lot of companies have ‘fun’ and ‘quirky’ processes for deciding who gets onto their graduate programme. We keep our recruitment process short and straightforward, assessing for the things that we know are critical to success in our company.

We hire graduates who have an aptitude for analytical thinking, 80% of our hiring decision is based on a test that looks at three essential qualities:

Technical skills
Quantitative skills
The ability to learn new things

If you have these aptitudes you’ll thrive at 2K. So, we encourage you to apply for our graduate programme.

The recruitment process is split into four stages:

Application with CV Review
Group Scoping Call to Explain the Process & Role in further detail
Task Stage (Completed over a time period at home)
Final Interview

Graduate Training Programme

Our graduate programme is a 21-month programme.

The 21-month period is split into 2 parts:

Core Skills Rotation – 3 month intensive training in Dublin office
Studio Rotations – 6 months rotations in different game studios

Core Skills Rotation:

This is the first rotation. Everyone is given a core set of skills, and training, required to operate in the business. This will include a variety of technical training, explainers on how different aspects of game engineering operate and work and also day-to-day training on how to work within a professional environment using tools such as JIRA or Slack.

Studio Rotations:

2K has a range of different studios who work on a variety of different games. Your rotations will be based on moving between different studios to experience different engineering environments and cultures.

A studio rotation will be significantly more in-depth regarding specific problems in comparison to the core skills training. You will be involved in the active development of a game that the studio is producing.

A studio rotation will take 6 months. You will be based in Dublin for the majority of that time, but for the first 6 weeks of each rotation you will be flown out to the studio location. Locations include Los Angeles for our MMG studio or Brighton, UK for our Hanger 13 Studio. The 6 weeks period will have expenses paid including flights, accommodation and per diems.

We allocate graduates to specific studios in the months leading up to the rotation time depending on visa requirements, game timelines and business requirements.

Each candidate will complete 3 studio rotations in their 21 month period.

Personal Development:

While we are working through the rotation system, simultaneously, we will be expecting and training for a shift in approach & responsibility.

Core Training – Months 1-3: On the job training with management

You’ll be given realistic tasks and challenges to complete.
You’ll be working through specific work problems to hone your technical skills
We’ll be watching your work closely, leading you step-by step.

Studio Rotation 1 – Months 4-9: Into the Mix

You will be involved in active game development. You could be involved in helping compile the next build of the game or working on developing core game components using the Unreal engine.

We’ll be watching your work closely, growing you step-by step.

Studio Rotations 2 & 3:

Months 10-21: This is when things get interesting.

We’ll be challenging you to influence our thinking on strategy. We want you to have opinions and if they are logical and sensible we’ll start to change how we work based on your suggestions.

We’re serious about our graduate programme. Our graduates bring fresh perspectives and new ways of looking at problems. Their ideas should, and do, lead to company-wide changes in how we operate.

After 21 months, you should have a wide taste of the different aspects of game development and can go into specific roles within the business. This might be in one studio or another. It might involve working in Dublin or the opportunity to move to a new location.

By that point, you’ll be trained in everything from advanced engineering skills to expertise in the Unreal engine. You will have the opportunity to develop yourself with some of the best game engineers in the world.

Why Work With Us

We want our team to do their best work at 2K, to challenge themselves, and to learn and grow in their roles. So, we invest in our staff. You will learn directly from our senior management, they’ll spend a lot of time sharing their skills and experience with the team.

Desired Skills & Experience

Highly numerate and strong technical skills.
Excellent programming skills.
A good grasp of fundamental algorithms and data structures.
Familiarity with source control (Perforce preferred).
Excellent debugging and analytical skills.
Ability to use coding language C++
Excellent attention to detail.
Self-Starter and quick learner. Confidence and ability to tackle new initiatives with little guidance.
Graduate degree, in a relevant industry such as Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, etc.