Alexandre Richer
Studio Programming Director
Greater Montréal, QC, Canada100% Remote[email protected]linkedin.com/in/alexandrericheralexricher.com
Summary
Programming director with 18+ years shipping AAA games and 12+ years leading engineering teams. I've spent most of that time on UI/UX systems, gameplay programming, and people-first leadership. I've built and led multi-discipline teams of 12+ across Eidos-Montréal, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and creā-ture Studios. Remote-first by default, with a bias toward clean engineering and saying what I mean.
Professional Experience
Studio Programming Director
creā-ture Studios Inc. (Nacon group)
October 2025 – Present
Montréal, QC (Remote)
- I lead programming strategy and execution for the studio.
- Programming leadership on Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Rageborn (announced at Nacon Connect).
- I'm setting up engineering processes, async-first workflows, and team culture.
- Driving internal AI-augmented R&D for Unreal Engine workflows.
Lead Gameplay/AI Programmer, Fable
Eidos-Montréal (collaboration with Playground Games)
November 2022 – May 2025
Montréal, QC
- Led a large team of gameplay and AI engineers contributing to Fable in collaboration with Playground Games.
- Coordinated across UK and Montréal time zones (5-hour gap) with async-first leadership, scheduled overlap windows, and cross-studio trust built up over time.
- Worked on hard technical problems where open-world systems meet a custom AAA gameplay-engine architecture.
- Managed team growth, mentoring, and cross-studio collaboration.
Development Director, Arena Battle Champions
Square Enix Montréal / Studio Onoma
October 2020 – November 2022
Montréal, QC
- Technical director of Arena Battle Champions, a mobile MOBA for Android/iOS.
- Led senior programmers covering gameplay, backend, AI, UI, tooling, and graphics.
- Established technical roadmaps, processes, and managed technical debt.
- Promoted R&D collaboration with Eidos Sherbrooke.
- Member of the Collaboration Committee promoting inclusive culture.
- Built a custom growth path for each person on the team.
- Studio rebranded from Square Enix Montréal to Studio Onoma in 2021; shut down November 24, 2022.
Team Lead Programming (UI), Multiple Projects
Ubisoft Montréal
January 2013 – October 2020
Montréal, QC
- Watch_Dogs 2 (2015–2017): Led 8 programmers. Architected an entirely new UI system in C++ with MVC patterns. Architecture later reused on Watch_Dogs Legion. Shipped with a sustainable workload.
- Undisclosed AAA Project (2017–2019): Built and led a 12+ person multi-discipline team. Wore multiple hats: Team Lead Programming, coordinating with CPIs, PMs, and Team Leads across art and other disciplines. Led the full Flash/Scaleform to in-house UI framework migration in parallel with active development, with no impact on any other team or milestone. Managed distributed remote teams. Project cancelled after ~3 years.
- Far Cry 5 (2018): Cross-project UI programming and shipping support.
- Watch_Dogs (2013–2014): Led UI performance team for cross-generation optimization (PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One).
- Technology Group (2014–2015): Worked on core features of Ubisoft's next-gen in-house UI middleware.
- Developed automated UI testing covering the vast majority of menus and HUD elements.
UI Programmer/Specialist
Eidos-Montréal
August 2008 – January 2013
Montréal, QC
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2008–2011): Developed the entire UI (HUD, menus, outer shell) using Scaleform/C++. Shipped on PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
- Tomb Raider (2011–2012): Collaborated with Crystal Dynamics. Built 3D main menu framework, multiplayer menus, HUD, and UI architecture standards.
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2011–2013): UI architecture and early development for the sequel.
Early Career, Enterprise & Mobile
Bluestreak / Jean Coutu / CGI
2002 – 2008
Montréal region, QC
- Bluestreak (2007–2008): MobileTV product for carriers. Travelled to Budapest to support the T-Mobile Hungary deployment. Worked with ChinaMobile for the Beijing Olympics. UI for the LG Renoir (KC910), LG's first touchscreen phone.
- Jean Coutu (2005–2007): POS system in C on Unix with ASCII art terminal UI. Contributed to Air Miles integration.
- CGI (2002–2005): Internal tools, troubleshooting utilities, and consulting for Bell Canada/BCE.
Shipped Titles (11+ credited)
Fable, Lead Gameplay/AI (2022–2025)Arena Battle Champions, Dev Director (2022)Far Cry 5, UI Programmer (2018)Watch_Dogs 2, Team Lead UI (2016)Watch_Dogs, UI Programmer (2014)Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Special Thanks (2016)Tomb Raider, UI Developer (2013)Deus Ex: HR Director’s Cut, Programmer (2013)Deus Ex: Human Revolution, UI Specialist (2011)Deus Ex: HR The Missing Link, Programmer (2011)
Technical Skills
Languages:C++, C#, TypeScript, Python, ActionScript, SQL, Java, JavaScriptEngines:Unreal Engine, Unity, Custom In-House Engines, Scaleform/FlashTools:Visual Studio, Jira, Confluence, Miro, Office 365, Perforce, Git, Console SDKsPlatforms:PlayStation (PS3–PS5), Xbox (360–Series X), PC, Nintendo Wii U, iOS, AndroidAI-Augmented Dev:Claude, ChatGPT/Codex, Gemini; Cursor, Windsurf; Claude Code, Open Code (3+ years)Methods:Agile/Scrum, Remote Team Leadership, MVC Architecture, Automated UI Testing
Education
HEC Montréal, Certificate, Organizational Leadership
2017UQAM, Certificate, Computer Science
2006–2009Champlain College St-Lambert, DEC, Computer Science
1999–2002Languages
French (Native) · English (Fluent) · Spanish (Conversational)