£40k – £55k per annum

Job Details:

As a Principal Game Designer, you will drive the development of systems and features that support our client’s game’s core pillars. Your role will involve consistently advocating for both players and the overall gaming experience. You’ll collaborate with various teams to gather input, feedback, and priorities, create comprehensive documentation for diverse audiences, and champion your areas of responsibility.

In this position, you’ll have a high degree of autonomy as a principal. Your expertise will be invaluable in ensuring that features and systems are well-considered, targeted, and innovative, helping to avoid potential development pitfalls and inspiring the rest of the team.
While you won’t be responsible for management duties, you will act as a mentor to other designers in a more casual capacity, sharing your insights and experiences. You will work closely with the rest of the design team to ensure that all features harmonize seamlessly, leveraging your experience to assist the team in finding the right solutions to design challenges.

The Team

Our client’s design team is dedicated to delivering captivating player experiences through the entire process of ideation, implementation, and iteration. We prioritize transparent and thoughtful communication, clear and precise documentation, and a willingness to explore innovative ideas together.

The team is passionate about discovering creative solutions to design challenges and is responsible for translating the game’s vision into individual features, levels, combat scenarios, quests, and encounters.

Working closely with all other disciplines, the design team supports features throughout the full development lifecycle to guarantee that the delivered experiences meet exceptional quality standards, fulfilling the needs and surpassing the expectations of our players.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with project leadership to develop outstanding systems and features that align with the game’s vision.
• Prototype game features on paper and in-game to identify enjoyable elements during early development stages.
• Create and maintain documentation for new and existing systems and features.
• Actively seek and embrace feedback and direction.
• Drive the development of tools and systems required to deliver game features of the highest quality.
• Regularly seek feedback from the broader team to enhance the player experience.
• Advocate for the quality targets of game features throughout the wider team.
• Conduct research across various forms of media to better fulfill the goals and vision of the player experience for our project.

Requirements

• A minimum of 8 years of professional game design experience.
• Experience working on at least one RPG title or a strong passion for playing RPGs with an understanding of their underlying mechanics.
• Proficiency in various RPG genres (MMO, action RPGs, strategy RPGs, adventure RPGs) and a genuine appreciation for the systems that underpin this genre.
• Expertise in one or several fields of game design.
• Exceptional communication and documentation skills.
• An analytical mindset, capable of deconstructing market-leading features to understand what makes them exceptional.
• Proven experience delivering high-quality features and content with a cross-disciplinary team.
• Compassion and thoughtfulness when mentoring less experienced team members.

Remuneration and Benefits

Our client is committed to offering competitive compensation packages and outstanding benefits to its employees:

• Competitive salaries, updated annually based on external benchmarking data.
• 30 days of annual leave, in addition to UK Bank Holidays.
• Hybrid work-from-home policy.
• Discretionary annual performance-based bonus.
• Private pension plan (total contribution of 10%, with up to 5% matched by our client).
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage (BUPA private healthcare, Cigna dental cover, life insurance, and income protection).
• Yearly preventative healthcare allowance of £425.
• Core studio hours from 10:00 to 16:00 with one “wellness hour” per week.
• Daily breakfast, snacks, and refreshments provided at the studio.
• VISA sponsorship for both individuals and their dependents.
• Relocation support for individuals relocating to the UK, including one month of accommodation, covered flights/travel expenses, and reimbursement of logistics/removal costs.
• Assistance for individuals relocating within the UK, including reimbursement for travel expenses related to flat viewings and moving logistics.