Senior Backend Engineer (Multiplayer) - Color Clash

voodoo•Stockholm, ME

36d•Remote

About The Position

Founded in 2013, Voodoo is a tech company that creates mobile games and apps with a mission to entertain the world. Gathering 800 employees, 7 billion downloads, and over 200 million active users, Voodoo is the #3 mobile publisher worldwide in terms of downloads after Google and Meta. Our portfolio includes chart-topping games like Mob Control and Block Jam, alongside popular apps such as BeReal and Wizz. This position is fully remote CET ±3h. Our Gaming team is made up of casual, and mid-core experts. Our 'Core' games team supports internal and external studios worldwide in creating, developing, and launching new hit games, whilst our 'Live' games team focuses on delivering higher engagement on our existing and successful games. Joining our Live games team means collaborating with gaming industry experts on globally renowned, enduring games while embracing exciting new entrepreneurial ventures. With over seven billion downloads worldwide and a portfolio of more than 10 resilient games generating more than $20m per year, we are the world's largest and most successful hybrid publisher. You will be joining a small multi-disciplinary team in one of our Live Studios, currently working on Color Clash Arena, and Collect Em All!. You will design and build the real-time multiplayer backbone for Color Clash, a growing mobile PvP game. You'll work hand-in-hand with client-developers, game designers, and artists, turning gameplay ideas into seamless online experiences for millions of players worldwide. You'll own the architecture from concept to deployment: choosing the right multiplayer framework, coding scalable APIs, and ensuring low-latency, synchronized matches. To succeed in this role, you need a passion for delivering reliable systems, a love for technical challenges, and the curiosity to keep learning and optimizing.

Requirements

5+ years of professional backend development experience, with at least 2 years in game networking or real-time systems.
Proven experience shipping or maintaining a multiplayer mobile or online game.
Strong proficiency in C#, Go, Node.js, Python, or similar backend languages.
Expertise in real-time communication protocols (WebSockets, UDP, TCP, gRPC).
Experience with databases (PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, etc.) and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
Deep understanding of scalability, latency, concurrency, and state synchronization in real-time environments.
Familiar with Unity game engine networking concepts and mobile client optimization.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and Kubernetes is a plus.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Nakama, Photon, PlayFab, GameSparks, or Unity Game Server Hosting.
Familiarity with ranking systems, tournaments, and leaderboard logic.
Background in DevOps or LiveOps systems (deployments, monitoring, metrics).
Interest in game AI, matchmaking strategies, or player behavior analytics.
And, of course, playing games!

Responsibilities

Design and implement a real-time multiplayer backend supporting matchmaking, lobby systems, and synchronized gameplay for Color Clash.
Select, integrate, or build from scratch a suitable multiplayer server framework (Photon Fusion, Nakama, PlayFab Multiplayer, Unity Game Server Hosting / Multiplay, or custom Netcode solution).
Architect secure, scalable cloud infrastructure (AWS / GCP / Azure) to handle high concurrency and dynamic scaling.
Build and maintain core systems for session management, player state replication, and real-time event synchronization.
Develop robust REST and WebSocket APIs for efficient client-server communication.
Optimize for low latency, high throughput, and smooth cross-region performance.
Integrate backend services with Unity-based mobile clients.
Implement persistent player data systems (profiles, progression, match history, leaderboards, rewards).
Develop and fine-tune matchmaking logic (Elo / MMR / skill-based / async fallback).
Set up real-time analytics, telemetry, and backend monitoring pipelines.
Collaborate closely with frontend and gameplay engineers to align network models and data flow.
Implement robust authentication, anti-cheat, and session validation systems.
Enforce backend security best practices (rate limiting, token validation, encryption).
Perform load testing, profiling, and optimization to ensure stability under peak loads.
Partner with game design and production to translate gameplay concepts into backend features.
Mentor and review code from mid/junior backend developers.
Evaluate and recommend technologies that improve performance, scalability, and team productivity.