Senior Systems Designer (12-month contract)
Summary
Designs and tunes complex gameplay systems and tools in Unreal Engine 5 for a sci-fi first-person action game, bridging design with art and code.
Blackbird Interactive is looking for a Senior Systems Designer to join on a sci-fi, first-person action game built in Unreal 5. The game is heavily systems-driven, and uses a blend of hand-authored and procedural content, with deep immersion, emergent gameplay, and an emphasis on narrative.
As a Senior Systems Designer, you are responsible for the design, tuning and maintenance of many important, complex systems, from core gameplay to economy and progression systems, with the goal of delivering a more dynamic player experience. You are a key bridge between Design and the Art and Code disciplines. You are also responsible for designing both features and dev-facing tools for use in Unreal. You care about shaping an engaging player experience and bringing together a blend of creative and technical skills and experience.
Responsibilities
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Design, prototype and implement complex gameplay systems and tools, in collaboration with the other Designers, Artists and Programmers
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Provide team-facing documentation to inform and guide the work of downstream groups
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Provide creative and technical feedback on the work of other Designers
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Understand, interpret and execute on creative direction, in alignment with project goals
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Act as a technical expert on key features and participate in data debugging
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Guide the technical work of others and ensure that content creation follows documented best practices
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Help test new tools / features before distribution to the rest of the team
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Participate in planning a roadmap to completion for the systems for which you’re responsible
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Mentor designers and promote good design principles across the team
Requirements
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Minimum 6 years in technical design or systems design
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Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of game design processes and skills investigating in-game issues
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At least two shipped titles
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Experience with Unreal 5 and Blueprints
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Self-direction and a proven ability to thrive in a highly technical environment
Pluses
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Experience with other areas of design (level design, UX/UI, encounter scripting, etc.)
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Experience playing modern first person games, including genres like Immersive Sim or Action-RPG
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Experience or knowledge of 2D / 3D software
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Experience with a variety of game engines
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Experience with version control software