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Austin, TX - Full-time positions for Java developers, a senior web architect/technical lead, PHP (Drupal) developers, HTML/CSS/JS front-end developers, artists

Austin, TX - Full-time positions for Java developers, a senior web architect/technical lead, PHP (Drupal) developers, HTML/CSS/JS front-end developers, artists and UX/interaction designers. We're BioWare, a video game company, and we're making a Star Wars massively-multiplayer online video game called Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Java positions are in our customer service and our middleware team: the live video game relays every movement and interaction of every player in real-time to a Java middleware on Oracle that feeds data into our customer service systems, our data warehouse, and our web site. The senior web architect/technical lead would design and run the technical implementations of the web side of things. The PHP (Drupal) positions are doing the back-end integration with that middleware and presenting live game data to the web. The HTML/CSS/JS positions are the front-end development of our web apps and site. Plus artists and another UX to design and draw it all. Contact me if you're interested, or http://www.bioware.com/careers/austin http://www.bioware.com/careers/austin

conorgil145 15y ago
The Java Developer description explains that you are looking for a Senior Java/J2EE programmer with a minimum of 10 years of experience. Are opportunities available for good Java developers with fewer years of experience, but who are quick learners and have worked with some of the technology listed?
- vitovito 15y ago
  Last I heard, we had multiple openings. They try to roll them up into single postings, perhaps this is the "most important" one they're looking for. Feel free to send me your details and I'll ask on Monday.
  - paul9290 15y ago
    Are these positions for local candidates only? Im a Front End Developer but not in Austin (at the moment).
    - vitovito 15y ago
      Well, you'd have to move here, but a relocation budget would be provided.
      - eplanit 15y ago
        I completely respect your company's requirement for locals, but I am genuinely curious as to why companies continue to insist on local presence for most all positions. I can guess at what the perceived benefits would be, but would really like to hear from an actual hiring manager what their actual reasons are. Are the reasons more about control, or economics?
        vitovito 15y ago
        I think you underestimate the cultural requirement for remote work, which any company not founded by UNIX geeks who grew up on IRC won't have. We're not that company. We've been around for fifteen years, and the doctors, writers, artists and designers who don't like working that way substantially outnumber the Windows desktop-centric and video game console developers, few of whom are likely comfortable with a terminal window. BioWare has people in all five studios working on the game, so we have some experience with working remotely, but that includes things like videoconferencing equipment in every meeting room and video chat cameras and headsets on most PCs. Successfully supporting remote workers is difficult and most companies are not equipped for the cultural shift that optimal remote work requires. In addition, the web team works across almost every part of the organization, and that includes senior management who don't sit in front of a PC all day, so you have to chase them down in person to find out an answer to something. From an implementation standpoint, all of the work we're doing expects fast, localhost or local network access to everything from video game servers to Oracle databases. It's pretty slow to work from home over VPN, and if you're remote, things like network route problems have prevented people from working for days at a time. Finally, it's BioWare, and it's Star Wars. The company is used to people liking the game industry and this company enough to move here from all over the world, sometimes on their own dime, for the privilege of being part of one of the few universally well-respected game companies and work the only property with a realistic chance of being the next big MMO.
  - conorgil145 15y ago
    I am not currently looking for work, but I love BioWare and was curious which positions were available. The question about experience popped into my head as I was reading over the job description and I thought that other people who are looking to apply may have been wondering the same thing. Thanks for the prompt reply!

conorgil145 15y ago

The Java Developer description explains that you are looking for a Senior Java/J2EE programmer with a minimum of 10 years of experience. Are opportunities available for good Java developers with fewer years of experience, but who are quick learners and have worked with some of the technology listed?

vitovito 15y ago
Last I heard, we had multiple openings. They try to roll them up into single postings, perhaps this is the "most important" one they're looking for. Feel free to send me your details and I'll ask on Monday.
- paul9290 15y ago
  Are these positions for local candidates only? Im a Front End Developer but not in Austin (at the moment).
  - vitovito 15y ago
    Well, you'd have to move here, but a relocation budget would be provided.
    - eplanit 15y ago
      I completely respect your company's requirement for locals, but I am genuinely curious as to why companies continue to insist on local presence for most all positions. I can guess at what the perceived benefits would be, but would really like to hear from an actual hiring manager what their actual reasons are. Are the reasons more about control, or economics?
      - vitovito 15y ago
        I think you underestimate the cultural requirement for remote work, which any company not founded by UNIX geeks who grew up on IRC won't have. We're not that company. We've been around for fifteen years, and the doctors, writers, artists and designers who don't like working that way substantially outnumber the Windows desktop-centric and video game console developers, few of whom are likely comfortable with a terminal window. BioWare has people in all five studios working on the game, so we have some experience with working remotely, but that includes things like videoconferencing equipment in every meeting room and video chat cameras and headsets on most PCs. Successfully supporting remote workers is difficult and most companies are not equipped for the cultural shift that optimal remote work requires. In addition, the web team works across almost every part of the organization, and that includes senior management who don't sit in front of a PC all day, so you have to chase them down in person to find out an answer to something. From an implementation standpoint, all of the work we're doing expects fast, localhost or local network access to everything from video game servers to Oracle databases. It's pretty slow to work from home over VPN, and if you're remote, things like network route problems have prevented people from working for days at a time. Finally, it's BioWare, and it's Star Wars. The company is used to people liking the game industry and this company enough to move here from all over the world, sometimes on their own dime, for the privilege of being part of one of the few universally well-respected game companies and work the only property with a realistic chance of being the next big MMO.
- conorgil145 15y ago
  I am not currently looking for work, but I love BioWare and was curious which positions were available. The question about experience popped into my head as I was reading over the job description and I thought that other people who are looking to apply may have been wondering the same thing. Thanks for the prompt reply!