Melbourne-based developer Tantalus has two positions to fill, one for executive producer and the other for a business development manager. CEO Tom Crago thought Kotaku Australia would be a great place to publicise the roles. Not only did I agree with him, I jumped at the opportunity to help.
Tom says you shouldn’t feel intimidated or discouraged from applying just because you have no experience in the industry. There are plenty of jobs that equip you with the skills necessary to make it in games development. Says Crago:
I think people in film and television could look at the video game industry as a potential source of employment, along with anyone presently working in more traditional software development. Skilled project managers are always in demand, and of course there is a serious shortage of C++ programmers.
He believes the industry would benefit from some cross-pollination, so don’t feel you need to keep all those juicy, related skills to yourself.
Want some specifics about the roles and a bit of background on Tantalus? Read on!Both positions are senior roles, so you will need to have a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Generally, executive producers make sure games hit milestones and stay within budget. They also tend to handle the scheduling of betas, quality assurance testing and asset delivery. So, while you won’t be hands-on in the design of games, it’s a great place to start to help you understand the organisational magic that happens in the background.
I don’t have much experience with the role of business development manager, but I can say it’s more focused on the relationship side of things. You’ll have to make sure clients, such as advertisers and publishers, are taken care of. Already having strong contacts is a plus.
More detailed descriptions of the roles are available from Tantalus on request (see the end of the post for the email address).
As for Tantalus itself, it’s one of the larger Australian developers. In an interview with Merger Market, Crago said the company is looking to acquire smaller developers to help it expand. From the interview:
“The prevalence of subscale businesses in the space means that consolidation may well be inevitable, and with its reputation, place within the industry, and strong financial backing, it makes sense for Tantalus to be at the forefront of that consolidation.”
Primarily Tantalus is interested in companies that are already making an effort to grow. Developers that would diversify the types of games and platforms the company can work on are also high on the list.
If Tantalus sounds like the sort of developer you’d like to work for, write your name and the position you’d like to apply for in the subject line of an email and fire it off to jobs(at)tantalus.com.au. I’m pretty sure Tom would love to hear from you!
Leave a Reply