Senior Combat Designer (CONTRACT)

Role overview Design and deliver enemy, mini-boss, and boss combat experiences for a game as part of a cross-disciplinary development team. The work spans concepting, prototyping, implementation, iteration, balance, and polish, with particular focus on combat behavior and AI. This is a six-month contract engagement through a staffing partner, working under the direction and review of design leads.

Responsibilities - Create and refine combat designs for AI enemies, mini-bosses, and larger boss encounters. - Implement and iterate on enemy and boss behavior using internal tools and scripting systems. - Collaborate with gameplay programmers, animators, mission designers, and other team members to deliver encounters. - Document gameplay systems and guidance for using enemy AI across missions and levels. - Gather and prioritize feedback, then improve encounter clarity, balance, and playability. - Coordinate with other combat designers on difficulty, enemy variety, introductions, and game-wide combat consistency; support mission teams with guidance or direct encounter work as needed.

Requirements - At least five years of professional game design experience, including a shipped title as a combat designer. - Experience designing, prototyping, implementing, and polishing enemy AI and boss characters. - Strong knowledge of contemporary combat design practices. - Proficiency with a modern game engine or proprietary equivalent, including scripting and direct gameplay prototyping. - Effective written, verbal, and visual communication across disciplines. - Working knowledge of level editing tools and scripting, a major 3D modeling program, and office productivity software.

Nice to have - Experience with 3D layout, Adobe Illustrator, or visual scripting tools such as UE4 Blueprints.

Benefits and work setup - The listed hourly pay range is $70–$90. Medical, dental, and vision benefits are offered for this contract role.