Staff Hero Designer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Staff Hero Designer based in United States. This role leads the creative vision, design, and execution quality of one or more playable hero characters for an upcoming game project. You will own core combat, traversal, abilities, controls, camera, and other player-facing mechanics from early prototypes through final polish. The position combines hands-on technical implementation with creative leadership, iteration, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. You will work closely with Gameplay Programmers, Animators, VFX Artists, Character Artists, Mission Designers, Narrative, and other development partners. As a Staff-level designer, you will help establish standards, mentor other designers, and influence the quality and consistency of third-person player experiences. The role offers significant autonomy to solve design problems, champion new ideas, and continuously improve tools, processes, and gameplay systems. Success requires deep expertise in game feel, player clarity, technical design, and highly polished third-person gameplay.

Hero character ownership: Lead the creative vision and primary design ownership for one or more playable characters, covering combat, movement, traversal, abilities, interactivity, progression, non-combat mechanics, allies, and game balance. Hands-on gameplay implementation: Prototype, implement, tune, and iterate hero combat and non-combat gameplay using internal tools and scripting systems, with a strong focus on innovation, playability, clarity, and polish. Creative leadership: Provide creative direction for development pods and collaborate with development leadership to establish milestones, priorities, feedback cycles, and execution plans. Cross-disciplinary collaboration: Partner closely with Gameplay Programming and Animation while collaborating with VFX, Character Art, Mission Design, Systems Design, UI/UX, Narrative, and other disciplines to create cohesive player experiences. Gameplay integration: Work with Mission and Combat Designers to integrate player mechanics into missions, encounters, and core combat systems. Progression and systems: Collaborate with Systems Designers, Gameplay Programmers, and UI/UX partners to support progression systems, meaningful player growth, and long-term gameplay engagement. Narrative integration: Work with Narrative, Mission Designers, and Mission Directors to support player-driven storytelling through mechanics and interactive experiences. Quality and iteration: Regularly review work in progress, gather feedback, identify problems, drive solutions, and ensure assigned player features meet creative and technical quality targets at each milestone. Documentation and standards: Create and maintain clear documentation covering player systems, features, standards, metrics, best practices, tutorials, and creative processes. Design innovation: Drive improvements to internal tools used for third-person character prototyping, implementation, and iteration, while identifying opportunities for greater efficiency and creative experimentation. Mentorship and expertise: Review hero character work across the studio, mentor and coach other Hero Designers, and serve as a subject-matter expert in third-person player character design. Vision and alignment: Lead brainstorms and reviews, communicate design intent clearly, build cross-functional alignment, and champion inclusive collaboration and strong design values. Industry awareness: Stay current with the evolution of game-design craft and third-person narrative gameplay, bringing relevant ideas and practices into the development process. Additional gameplay systems: Take on other gameplay systems design responsibilities when needed to support the broader project. Requirements Professional experience: 8+ years of professional game-design experience, including at least one shipped title where you were a primary design owner for player combat and/or overall player character systems. Player gameplay expertise: Proven ability to create, tune, and polish high-quality player movement, combat, controls, game feel, and gameplay balance. Third-person specialization: Deep knowledge of the history and current state of game-design craft, particularly within third-person narrative games. Technical design skills: High proficiency with modern game engines such as Unreal, Unity, or proprietary engines, with demonstrated experience directly scripting, prototyping, implementing, and iterating gameplay systems. 3D development: Experience with 3D layout is a plus, along with intermediate knowledge of level-editing tools and 3D modeling software such as Maya or comparable applications. Tools and software: Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Miro, Confluence, or equivalent productivity and collaboration tools. Experience with animation tools or programming languages is an advantage. Problem solving: Strong practical reasoning skills and the ability to work effectively with varied and complex situations where standardized solutions may not exist. Communication: Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with the ability to explain design concepts and collaborate effectively across disciplines. Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional contributors, provide constructive feedback, mentor designers, and establish alignment around creative and technical goals. Autonomy: Highly self-driven and comfortable taking ownership, identifying problems proactively, implementing solutions, and adapting to feedback. Creative approach: Strong creative instincts combined with technical depth, attention to detail, and a passion for highly polished player experiences. Benefits Salary: Estimated base pay range of $148,000–$222,000 USD, with actual compensation varying based on geographic location and job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, and experience. Equity/bonus: The role may be eligible for a bonus package. Healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage. Retirement: Matching 401(k). Time off: Paid time off. Wellness: Access to a wellness program. Employee discounts: Employee discounts on eligible products. Remote flexibility: Flexible remote work within the United States, with pay ranges varying by geographic location. Professional environment: Opportunity to collaborate with multidisciplinary game-development teams and contribute to a high-quality third-person gameplay experience. Background screening: Background checks are conducted at the offer stage for new employees.

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