At EA SPORTS, we're building the future of interactive entertainment, and the NHL team is at the heart of that mission. Our team in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a diverse group of talented developers dedicated to solving unique technical challenges to create the most authentic on-ice experience for millions of players worldwide.
The Senior Technical Lead – Core Technology is the strategic technical leader for the foundational engineering domains of the NHL franchise, overseeing gameplay engineering, rendering, presentation, audio, and 3D art teams. As the extension of the Franchise Technical Director, you are accountable for technical direction, long term planning, cross-team alignment, and successful delivery across your stream. Your decisions and leadership will shape the experience of millions of players every year. If you are passionate about guiding complex technical initiatives, empowering teams, and shaping the foundation of a world class sports title, this role offers scope, influence, and meaningful impact.
You will be working on a hybrid model, 3 days a week out of our EAV Studio in Burnaby, British Columbia.
What You’ll Do
Technical Leadership & Strategy
Partner closely with the Franchise Technical Director to define and drive the long-term Core Technology roadmap, aligning technical direction with franchise and studio goals.
Lead multi-year architectural and foundational initiatives spanning gameplay engineering, rendering, audio, presentation, and art technology.
Make clear, high-impact technical decisions, balancing tradeoffs while identifying and mitigating risks early.
Delivery & Execution
Own end-to-end delivery for your technology stream, ensuring Core Technology systems ship predictably, reliably, and with high quality.
Coordinate across engineering, design, art, and production to resolve dependencies and maintain forward momentum.
Provide technical assessments for scope, risk, and feasibility throughout planning, milestones, and execution.
Cross-Discipline Collaboration
Build strong partnerships with central technology teams, external partners, and other EA SPORTS franchises.
Ensure Core Technology solutions scale across content pipelines, creative workflows, and runtime performance requirements.
Team Leadership & People Management
Lead and mentor domain tech leads and senior engineers, setting a high bar for technical excellence, ownership, and growth.
Foster a culture of openness, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Define and champion engineering standards and best practices that scale across disciplines and across multiple annual releases.
Technical Excellence & Performance
Champion performance-conscious design, ensuring Core Technology domains consistently meet CPU and GPU budgets across supported platforms.
Guide teams in identifying and prioritizing performance risks, providing leadership and direction rather than hands-on profiling.
Your Qualifications
8+ years of professional software or game development experience, including work on large codebases or shipped console titles.
3+ years of technical leadership or engineering management experience, leading multi-domain initiatives or managing senior technical leaders.
Deep expertise in C++ and a strong understanding of modern game engine architecture, with the ability to evaluate solutions, assess risk, and guide decisions.
A proven ability to drive technical strategy, align teams, and communicate complex ideas clearly across disciplines.
Strong partnership skills, with experience working closely across engineering, design, art, production, and external technology groups.
Preferred Experience
Leadership experience in gameplay, rendering, presentation, audio, or content creation workflows.
Hands-on exposure to large-scale game engines.
Why Join Us
- Shape the foundational technology powering one of EA’s most iconic sports franchises.
- Lead talented multi-disciplinary teams with real ownership and influence.
- Drive initiatives that will directly impact millions of players every year.
- Work within a collaborative and innovative studio where your leadership will meaningfully shape the future of the NHL franchise.