Design Lead (12-month Contract)

Responsibilities

• Work closely with project leadership and our publishing partner to understand, reinforce, and help execute the established creative vision across gameplay systems and features.
• Lead and support a team of designers in the implementation, tuning, balancing, and polish of gameplay features, with a focus on delivering a cohesive, high-quality player experience.
• Provide clear guidance, feedback, and mentorship to designers, helping them translate high-level direction into effective, shippable designs while supporting professional growth.
• Collaborate closely with engineering to implement gameplay systems and tools that support design goals, scalability, and efficient iteration.
• Partner with art and audio teams to ensure gameplay systems are readable, expressive, and aligned with the intended player experience, reinforcing design intent through presentation.
• Communicate design goals, constraints, and priorities clearly across disciplines, ensuring teams remain aligned as features evolveIdentify execution risks, design gaps, or dependency issues early, working with production to adjust scope, sequencing, or implementation plans as needed.
• Contribute hands-on to the implementation of gameplay content and systems as needed, helping unblock the team, prototype solutions, or carry features through critical phases of development

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience contributing to game development, including at least 5 in a design leadership or senior design role supporting team execution.
• Experience shipping at least one large-scale game, ideally with action-oriented or systems-driven gameplay.
• Strong understanding of core gameplay execution, including player controls, camera behavior, combat or interaction systems, and moment-to-moment game feel.
• Demonstrated ability to support, mentor, and review the work of other designers, improving consistency and quality across a team.
• Comfort operating in a technical, fast-moving production environment, balancing quality, scope, and schedule.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across design, engineering, art, audio, and production.
• Ability and willingness to implement gameplay content directly, using in-engine tools and workflows to prototype, iterate, and polish features alongside the team.

Pluses

• Interest in science fiction games and worlds, particularly those emphasizing exploration, scale, and systemic gameplay.
• A strong instinct for player-centric execution, including clarity, responsiveness, and usability.
• Passion for delivering polished, high-quality gameplay systems that hold up over long play sessions.
• Appreciation for how design intent, systems, and presentation come together in shipped content.
• Enjoyment of collaborative problem-solving and helping teams iterate toward better outcomes.