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University of Wisconsin - Madison
Software Engineer/Developer I (Lead Developer, Field Day Lab)
🇺🇸
Hybrid - Madison, Wisconsin
🕑
Full-Time
💰
$70K
💻
Software Engineering
🗓️
August 25th, 2026
Unity
C#
Edtech.com's Summary
Field Day Lab is hiring a Lead Developer to perform a blend of hands-on software engineering and technical leadership for educational game projects. The role involves building core game systems, mentoring developers, coordinating engineering efforts, and helping to shape the technical direction of interactive learning tools.
Highlights
- Develop core game systems and maintain applications, systems, or websites.
- Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and coordination for software development teams.
- Prepare program documentation and training materials; test and debug software.
- Use Unity and advanced C# skills, with experience in JavaScript and Python.
- Lead technical decision-making and break projects into manageable workstreams.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including designers, artists, producers, researchers, and educators.
- Minimum 7 years professional software development experience, including game and interactive application development.
- Experience leading engineering practices, developing prototypes, and fostering a culture of experimentation.
- Preferred qualifications include a degree in Computer Science or related field, and experience with educational or serious games.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work across domains with mathematical modeling and simulations.
Software Engineer/Developer I (Lead Developer, Field Day Lab) Full Description
We are seeking a Lead Developer who combines strong software engineering skills with technical leadership. This role is approximately 70% hands-on development and 30% technical leadership, mentoring, and coordination. The successful candidate will build core game systems while guiding engineering practices, supporting other developers, and helping shape the technical direction of multiple educational game projects.
Field Day Lab is a research and development group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that creates educational games and digital tools for teaching and learning. Their focus is on designing interactive experiences that blend game-based learning with academic research, aiming to engage students and teachers in subjects such as science, history, and social studies.
The lab collaborates with educators, scientists, and other researchers to develop these digital tools, often grounded in real-world data and classroom environments. They explore how games can enhance learning by providing students with interactive, immersive environments where they can experiment, explore, and apply concepts in new ways.
Key Job Responsibilities
- Prepares program documentation and training requirements
- Maintains and troubleshoots applications, systems, or websites
- Implements data structure and systems performance strategies
- Reviews application design specifications, codes new applications, and makes enhancements to existing applications
- Develops or modifies technical specifications for low-complexity projects using disciplined software development practices
- Tests and debugs programs, and prepares systems test data
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of 7 years of professional software development experience, including experience developing games and interactive applications
- Demonstrated expertise with Unity and a strong understanding of game development principles
- Advanced proficiency in C# and experience with additional programming languages such as JavaScript and Python, with the ability to adapt to new programming languages as needed
- Experience independently developing game prototypes from concept through implementation
- Ability to read, understand, and refactor code efficiently
- Experience translating project goals into technical implementation plans and engineering solutions
- Experience leading technical decision-making for complex software projects
- Demonstrated leadership experience mentoring, coaching, and providing technical guidance to software developers
- Experience breaking large projects into technical workstreams, estimating engineering effort, prioritizing and assigning tasks, tracking progress, and providing coaching and feedback to ensure timely completion
- Ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including designers, artists, producers, researchers, and educators
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including writing and maintaining clear documentation
- Ability and comfort moving across domains and mathematically modeling them into simulations
- Experience mentoring interns or early-career developers
- Experience building rapid prototypes and creating a culture of experimentation where prototypes are viewed as learning tools rather than miniature products
- Ability to maintain a regular onsite presence at 1025 W. Johnson Street, Madison, WI multiple days each week
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Game Development, or a closely related field
- Experience leading development teams or serving as a technical lead
- Experience with mathematical modeling or simulation development
- Experience with educational games, serious games, or learning technologies
- Experience collaborating in research or academic environments
- Experience with audio editing and recording software
- Experience establishing engineering best practices, code review processes, and development workflows
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