The Palm Pre and WebOS supposed suckiness when it comes to gaming has been well documented and the company wants to fix that flaw – a job posting on Mary-Margaret network shows Palm is actively recruting a Game Frameworks Engineer, Palm-MMN. Check out the description:

Mary-Margaret Network has partnered exclusively with Palm Inc. to find top-notch graphics engineers to create development tools for the Palm webOS. Palm has established a new software team to focus on building the best tools and technologies to allow game developers to design and develop innovative gaming applications for Palm\’s WebOS platform.

“The launch of Palm webOS™ and Palm Pre was a major milestone in Palm’s transformation; we have now officially reentered the race,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We have more to accomplish, but the groundwork is laid for a very promising future here at Palm. Our senior management team is capable, motivated and focused on execution; there is large group of developers waiting to build great applications for Palm webOS; and we have a new product pipeline that we think will set a standard for the industry.”

Palm is looking for developers who are passionate about gaming, handhelds, mobile communication and the possibilities for Palm in the gaming arena. The software developers we’re looking for will have strong mathematical/analytical skills and will be effective team members in a small, focused initiative.

Game Frameworks Engineer
RESPONSIBILITIES:

* Design, implement, debug, and optimize frameworks for game development

REQUIREMENTS:

* Software development experience in game industry; preferred candidate would possess knowledge of 3D graphics, including hardware graphics pipelines and programmable shaders.
* Familiarity with 3D games and gaming technologies expected.
* 5+ years relevant experience
* Must be self-directed, analytical and efficient at communication
* BSCS/EE or equivalent

This is a great opportunity with a growing company. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this position, please forward this email or send them my contact information. Interested candidates can apply at www.mary-margaret.com. Whether candidates apply on the Mary-Margaret Network website or directly on the Palm website, “Palm-MMN” must be included in the subject of the submission!

This means a few things, starting with the fact that Palm has basically acknowledged a gaping hole in the platform from a gaming standpoint. However, they stated from the beginning that WebOS wouldn’t initially be a gaming focused platform and now they’re addressing the situation. I’m happy to see they are working diligently but refuse to be rushed into things… there is a huge risk in trying to do too much at once and it seems Palm has their priorities in check.

I also want to quickly point out the end of the job description, particularly this line:

This is a great opportunity with a growing company.

Six months ago that would have been a laughable statement… and now it seems like an understatement. In due time WebOS will grow to support powerful and competitive gaming options, we just need to show patience and understand how early we are in the mobile platform’s life. That being said, we won’t complain if some kick-butt games happen to plop on the catalog sooner rather than later.

[Thanks Ryan!]