Advanced Designer, Systems

Description

The team builds games at a studio in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, with the Wasatch Mountains nearby. It has been making interactive experiences since 1995 for players of some of the largest franchises in the industry.

You will join the team behind a 2023 open world action RPG that became a major hit, and help shape its next project.

The studio is part of a global media and entertainment group with three business segments: Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and TV Media.

You will work on systems that fit together to create engaging play, shaping how players progress and what keeps them coming back. You will think about the player's journey from start to finish, with a focus on keeping them engaged and satisfied.

You will work directly with design leadership, narrative design, producers, and peers across all disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and build gameplay systems covering progression, leveling, rewards, loot, economy, open world activities, gear, crafting, and collections.
• Define and explain the gameplay systems and reward loops needed to deliver the intended player experience.
• Work with designers and other disciplines to fit systems into narrative and gameplay goals.
• Help design leadership set pillars, player experience goals, and feature plans that extend the game's vision and build on existing systems.
• Turn high-level creative direction, team feedback, and cross-discipline discussions into clear design documents, specs, and implementation plans.
• Gather input from discipline leads and stakeholders across the studio, test proposals, and keep gameplay systems aligned with project needs.
• Keep the systems vision on track and guide the team toward it through collaboration and decisions.
• Work with production to set feature priorities and keep milestones on schedule.
• Improve tools, pipelines, and documentation for building and iterating, and share them with the team.
• Tune and refine systems using leadership and peer feedback, playtest results, and data analysis.
• Study open world gameplay design and create new content that follows set design parameters and guidelines.

Requirements

• A degree in computer science, or equivalent experience with C++ programming.
• Advanced experience designing gameplay and systems, including owning large or complex features from concept through polish.
• A proven ability to set feature direction and turn broad creative goals into clear design plans and documentation.
• Experience designing progression, reward, loot, economy, mini-game, gear, crafting, or collection systems for action RPG or open world games.
• Credits on multiple shipped titles, including full development cycles from concept to release.
• Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprint and other gameplay implementation tools.
• Experience working with SQL and database tools.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team, giving clear guidance to designers, engineers, and artists.
• Strong written communication, including combining feedback from several stakeholders into coherent design proposals and implementation specs.

Conditions

Hybrid role with onsite days each week at the studio in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Relocation support is available for qualified candidates who live outside the area.

Accommodations are available for qualified candidates with a disability during the application and recruitment process.