About HololabsHololabs is a creative technology studio and solutions partner, bringing interactive, immersive experiences to life with a focus on user engagement and play. Rooted in video game development, we’ve evolved to lead in immersive entertainment, location-based experiences, and emerging media like virtual and augmented reality. Collaboration is central to our approach; we team up with visionary partners to solve challenges, explore new ideas, and create experiences that resonate with audiences worldwide.
The roleWe are looking for a
Senior Backend Engineer to design, develop, and maintain robust and scalable backend systems that power distributed real-time games and attractions. This involves providing technical leadership, mentoring junior developers, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to architect efficient solutions that meet business objectives and user needs. This role is responsible for driving innovation, implementing best practices, and ensuring the reliability, security, scalability and performance of backend infrastructure and services.
As a growing studio based in Victoria, BC, you will also play an important role in shaping how we structure internal systems, infrastructure, and software practices as the studio scales.
Hours per week: 40
Role type: Full-time permanent employee
Place of work: hybrid (due to the hands-on nature of the role, weekly on-site presence at our studio in downtown Victoria, BC is required)
Salary: $100,000 - $130,000
Reporting to: Senior Software Developer
Who you areYou are a collaborative and trusted technical partner who enjoys building systems that power real-time, interactive experiences. You take a systems-level view of backend development, understanding how networking, data streaming, runtime environments, and deployment targets interact to deliver low-latency, reliable multiplayer interaction. You also enjoy being hands-on, designing sustainable APIs, building services and tools, scripting solutions, and optimizing code to squeeze out performance where it counts.
You bring strong backend and distributed systems experience from building large interactive media projects, and you take ownership of the services and infrastructure that support development, testing, and live operations. You're equally comfortable diving into production issues, mentoring other engineers, and acting as a technical point of contact for clients. In a growing studio environment, you take a pragmatic approach, balancing security, performance, and cost while helping our systems evolve as we scale.
What you’ll do
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Assist the studio in development of software for interactive digital media experiences including video games, mixed reality installations, theme park attractions, and their related backend systems.
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Develop backend services and data streaming systems for low-latency, real-time multiplayer interaction.
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Develop live operations software, testing tools, deployment systems, and other microservices for use in conjunction with Hololabs products and services.
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Develop dashboards, operational controls, and other user interfaces for managing backend services, deployment, and monitoring.
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Work closely with designers and other engineers to define, develop, and adjust these products.
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Work directly with clients and be a technical point of contact and subject matter expert liaising with both technical and leadership teams.
- Design sustainable APIs and proactively maintain and manage their life cycles.
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Help manage DevOps systems, including software interoperability and continuous integration.
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Play an active role in identifying and resolving issues in production systems, architecture, or processes.
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Create technical proposals, documentation, features briefs, and evaluation plans for the above-mentioned duties.
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Play a proactive role in code optimization to improve performance.
What you bring
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5+ years of hands-on experience implementing a distributed multiplayer game or immersive experience.
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Ability to evaluate, integrate, and support evolving technology stacks across multiple projects
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Solid understanding of concurrent programming principles.
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Proficient in command-line scripting across platforms (Bash, PowerShell, etc.).
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Security-minded approach to access control, system monitoring, and observability.
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Deep familiarity with client vs server authority models, lag compensation, prediction, and multiplayer synchronization techniques.
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Proficiency with networking protocols, such as WebSockets, TCP/UDP, gRPC, and UDP Multicast.
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Proven ability to implement efficient and scalable serialization techniques, e.g., Protocol Buffers (protobufs).
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Proficiency in cross-platform backend development (Windows + Linux).
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Skilled in utilizing native SDKs for languages such as Go, C++, C, and C#.
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Deep expertise in modern C++, including:
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Have strong knowledge of object-oriented design, data structures, and extensible design patterns.
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Be disciplined in creating and maintaining modular codebases.
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Understand threads, memory management, and performance optimization.
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Practical knowledge of:
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Win32 APIs
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Databases and data storage solutions - eg, PostgreSQL, Redis
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Virtualization and containerization - eg, Docker, VMWare, etc.
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Continuous integration systems - eg, Jenkins, Team City etc.
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Knowledge of Linux system administration (configuring remote access, managing users and groups, etc.
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Technical leadership:
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Ability to create technical designs and then communicate and organize a team to execute.
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Ability to perform code reviews and oversee other developers, validating their code for function, form, and efficiency.
Nice to haves
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Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, e.g., AWS.
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Proficiency defining and deploying infrastructure with Terraform.
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Demonstrated capability with both Unity & Unreal Engine development
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Understand best practices for architecture, project structure, and building tools in C++ / C#.
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Experience with Unity Netcode and Unreal networking.
What we offer
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Weekly team lunch and regular socials
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Paid time off during annual holiday closure
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Collaborative, flexible and creative work environment
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Hybrid work with core hours of 10am to 4pm
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Extended health and dental
- Stocked kitchen with snacks and drinks to keep you fueled
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Modern waterview office in downtown Victoria
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Secure bike parking
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Professional development support
What to expect
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Phase 1: 30-45 minute video screen
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Phase 2: 45-60 minute in-person panel interview
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Phase 3: references
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Phase 4: offer!
We are an equal opportunity employerWe are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment for employees and contractors from all walks of life. Hiring decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or disability. We hire based on talent, and we’re excited to hear what you will bring to our team!
How to applyTo apply, please submit a CV. Cover letters are optional but they do help us understand your career story and alignment in the position. Got a more creative way to make that come across? We’d love to see it!
If you don’t meet all of our requirements exactly or have taken a non-traditional professional path, we still want to hear from you! Use your cover letter to tell us about your unique background, skills, and experiences, and how they make you the perfect fit for this role. We value diverse perspectives and believe that unconventional approaches often bring fresh ideas and innovation to our team. Let us know why you’re passionate about joining us and how your journey has prepared you to contribute to our mission. 