Staff Hero Designer

Role overview A game studio is hiring a Staff-level Hero Designer to own the creative vision and execution of playable characters for an upcoming third-person action title. The role centers on combat, traversal, and the 3Cs (Camera, Character, Controls), blending hands-on technical prototyping with design leadership across multiple disciplines. It is a senior, high-impact position accountable for moment-to-moment gameplay quality.

Responsibilities - Lead creative direction and primary ownership of one or more playable characters, including combat, traversal, abilities, interactivity, and progression systems. - Prototype, implement, and iterate hero gameplay directly through internal engines and scripting tools, prioritizing game feel, clarity, and polish. - Partner closely with gameplay programmers, animators, VFX artists, and character artists to deliver world-class moment-to-moment experiences. - Coordinate with mission designers, combat designers, narrative leads, and UI/UX staff to integrate heroes into encounters, missions, and progression loops. - Drive standards, documentation, tutorials, and metrics for hero design across the studio while serving as a subject-matter expert in third-person character work. - Run brainstorms, reviews, and alignment sessions, championing design values and mentoring cross-discipline pods toward on-screen quality targets.

Requirements - Eight or more years of professional game design experience, with at least one shipped title as a primary design owner of player combat or character systems. - Deep expertise in tuning player movement, combat, controls, balance, and overall game feel in third-person action games. - Strong proficiency with modern engines such as Unreal, Unity, or proprietary equivalents, including scripting, prototyping, and iterating systems hands-on. - Working knowledge of 3D tools like Maya and familiarity with level editors and animation or programming workflows. - Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills across disciplines, with the ability to solve ambiguous design problems. - Demonstrated ability to lead cross-discipline teams, plan milestones, and respond constructively to feedback.

Nice to have - Experience with 3D layout, animation tools, or programming languages. - Background in narrative-driven third-person games and a pulse on industry trends in player character design.

Benefits and work setup - Remote-eligible role with pay ranges that vary by geographic location; an example range for Seattle-based candidates is $148,000–$222,000 USD base. - Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, paid time off, wellness programs, and product discounts. - Eligibility for a performance bonus package. - Standard pre-employment background checks apply at the offer stage.