About the role
Company Overview
Seismic Squirrel LLC is a close-knit, fully remote videogame studio focused on developing thoughtful, narrative-driven RPG videogames set in an alternate-history 1930s New York City. The studio consists of approximately 24 employees.
Role Overview
The Senior Videogame Designer will design gameplay, systems, mechanics, maps, and levels. This role involves collaboration with engineers, writers, artists, testers, and management to document and implement game content while maintaining high user experience (UX) quality.
Quests and Responsibilities
- Guide the design of gameplay, systems, and mechanics, including unit balancing and in-game economy.
- Work with other departments to design and implement game levels and missions, including establishing mission objectives, level layout, and supporting the integration of art and narrative assets in Unity.
- Preside over design meetings and clearly document game designs in requirements.
- Actively collaborate with the development team on the game concept and design.
- Effectively communicate needed mechanics to Engineering.
- Maintain outstanding UX quality throughout the design.
- Participate in internal game testing and feedback.
- Openly communicate with team members on progress and problems, define deliverables, and set realistic project timelines and expectations.
- Champion intuitive UX to ease new players into the game with an engaging first-time experience.
- Predict, identify, and resolve user experience issues that could detract from player enjoyment.
- Identify where to add analytics instrumentation and interpret analytics data to improve user experience.
Character Stats (Mandatory Qualifications)
- 10+ years of professional experience in game design through the full lifecycle of development (concept, design, prototype, production, content creation, testing, polish, launch, and support).
- Must have successfully shipped at least one videogame in a Senior Designer role.
- Strong understanding of combat and travel systems, mechanics, and level design best practices.
- Expert-level proficiency as a Designer in Unity.
- Experienced integrating and implementing narrative within gameplay.
- Experienced working with professional narrative authoring tools (e.g., Articy, Arcweave, Pixel Crushers).
- Understanding of the unique needs and opportunities for developing games on PC and console.
- Passionate for the industry, enthusiastic about quality gameplay, and familiar with various games and genres.
- Strong self-discipline, highly motivated, and a self-starter.
- Organized, detail-oriented, and able to work in varying levels of structure depending on project needs.
- Courteous, patient, and able to give/receive constructive feedback gracefully.
- Able to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and personalities.
- Adaptable and willing to wear various hats.
- Outstanding documentation, information organization, and cross-referencing skills.
- Strong written, visual, and verbal English language communication and presentation skills.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and resourcefulness.
- Able to balance and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and budgets.
- Adept at working remotely using collaboration tools.
- Proficiency in Atlassian Jira and Confluence.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Visio.
- Experienced applying UML in design.
- Must possess an ergonomic and secure workspace separate from personal activities and roommates during work hours.
Bonus Points
- Proficient in art tools (e.g., Adobe), modeling tools (e.g., Blender, 3ds Max), and design tools (e.g., Adobe XD, Figma).
- Located in hub metros: Seattle, Los Angeles, Edmonton, or Austin.
Location and Working Conditions
- Location: USA or Canada (Remote).
- Residency Requirement: Must reside within the UTC-4 to UTC-8 timezones.
- Work Hours: Core hours are 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM Pacific.
- Meetings: Attendance is required for daily scrum, retrospectives, sprint planning, and design meetings. Occasional calls during evenings, nights, or early mornings may be required for international collaborators.
- Travel: Occasional travel may be expected.
- Legal: Must be authorized to work in the USA or Canada. H-1B transfers and sponsorships are not available.
Compensation and Employment Type
- Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire or Employee (dependent on location, skills, aptitude, fit, project needs, and pay expectations).
- Pay: $45-65 USD per hour (dependent on skills and experience).