Location: Berlin, Germany
Contract type: On-Payroll, Full-time (40h/week), fixed-term contract (with a strong possibility of extension or conversion to permanent employment based on performance and project requirements)
Expected Start Date: 01.09.2026
The Tools Programmer / IT will own the ongoing development and maintenance of Torpor's internal tooling, including the narrative content management system and internal launcher, as well as the backend infrastructure — Azure VMs, web apps, databases, and environments — that these tools depend on. The role is split roughly 30% IT operations and 70% tooling and infrastructure development, spanning full-stack tool development, cloud and DevOps work, and day-to-day IT administration across identity, devices, and networking. The Tools Programmer / IT will take prototypes built by others through to maintained, production-quality systems, propose solutions to workflow problems across the team, and own the studio's security posture and GDPR compliance in practice. The role works closely with the CTO and Lead Programmer on architectural direction for release and build automation.
Essential qualifications
3+ years of professional programming experience, with a track record of building and maintaining tools that other people depend on daily.
Full-stack capability across C#, Node.js/TypeScript, and SQL, with particular strength on the web and backend side.
Hands-on cloud and DevOps experience on a major platform (Azure preferred, AWS or GCP equally valid): provisioning, deploying, monitoring, and maintaining virtual machines, web apps, databases, and environments, with cost-aware resource management and without needing the work handed to you.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, build automation, and containerization — ideally GitHub Actions and Docker.
IT and infrastructure administration across identity, devices, and networking: managing permissions across cloud resources, GitHub organizations, and platform partner portals; provisioning and onboarding laptops through an MDM solution; and handling office network setup, VPN, and connectivity troubleshooting.
Ownership instinct for tooling — able to spot workflow problems within a team and propose solutions rather than only executing specified tasks, and comfortable inheriting rough prototypes and taking them to a maintained, production-quality state.
Strong security practices, with a working understanding of how studios and small companies get compromised — credential handling, secrets management, endpoint hardening, access reviews, phishing and social engineering — and the instinct to close those gaps before they are exploited.
Working knowledge of GDPR and the regulatory obligations around employee and player data, including retention, processing agreements, and breach response.
Preferred qualifications
Experience with Unity and C# editor tooling.
Experience with Firebase, BigQuery, or comparable analytics infrastructure.
Experience with build automation for game projects specifically, including Unity Cloud Build or equivalent.
Experience with Kubernetes or comparable orchestration.
Experience with desktop application frameworks such as Tauri or Electron, and with React.
Experience with PostgreSQL administration, including backup, migration, and recovery.
Prior experience in games or another environment with content pipelines and non-technical end users.
Familiarity with vendor and license management, or IT policy in a small organization.
Own the ongoing development and maintenance of Torpor's internal tooling, including our narrative content management system and our internal launcher.
Take tools and prototypes started by others through to maintained, reliable systems, and drive their improvement over time.
Identify friction and gaps in how the team works, propose tooling to address them, and implement what gets agreed.
Maintain the backend infrastructure our tools depend on: Azure VMs, web apps, databases, staging and production environments, and the analytics pipeline.
Administer identity, access, and permissions across Entra, GitHub, cloud resources, and platform partner accounts.
Handle IT operations, including laptop procurement and setup, Intune enrollment, onboarding and offboarding, office network and VPN, and day-to-day support for colleagues across disciplines with varying technical backgrounds.
Own the studio's security posture in practice: enforce access hygiene, manage secrets and credentials, keep endpoints and cloud resources hardened, and ensure data handling stays compliant with GDPR.
Implement and maintain release and build automation, working from architectural direction set with the CTO and Lead Programmer.
Document tooling and infrastructure so that knowledge does not sit with one person.
The role is roughly 30% IT operations and 70% tooling and infrastructure development.
Health & Wellbeing: Free Urban Sports Club membership (Berlin employees).
Transport: Fully covered Deutschland-Ticket (Berlin employees).
Flexible Hours: Start your day between 8:00 and 10:00 CET, with core working hours from 10:00 to 15:00 CET.
Hybrid Work: Work 3 days in the office and 2 days remotely (Berlin employees).
Work from Abroad: Up to 10 remote working days per year outside Germany (employees).
Team Events: Regular team events and access to the NLND community network.
Feedback & Growth: Regular feedback and development sessions.
Annual Bonus: Performance-based bonus.
Vacation: 24 paid vacation days per year (full-time employees).