Lead Level Designer

Mob Entertainment is a startup multimedia studio that is best known for our hit indie horror game "Poppy Playtime". This franchise is one of the hottest new properties in gaming, and our team is naturally expanding as our ambition expands. To give a taste of our brand's popularity, more than 100 billion YouTube views of Poppy Playtime related content have occurred since the game's launch 4 years ago.

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced Lead Level Designer to help define the spaces, pacing, and player experience from its earliest stages through to production. In this role, you'll establish the level design philosophy, build the game's first playable environments, and lead a small team of level designers through prototype, vertical slice, and production.

You'll partner closely with Design, Art, Narrative, Audio, Engineering, and Production to create memorable environments that evoke fear, reward exploration, and support compelling gameplay. This role is ideal for someone who understands that great horror level design isn't just about layout—it's about manipulating tension, anticipation, player psychology, and environmental storytelling.

You'll be expected to lead by example, remaining hands-on while mentoring designers and helping establish workflows that can scale into full production.

What You'll Do

Level Design Leadership

• Own the level design vision and philosophy throughout pre-production.
• Define best practices for pacing, navigation, encounter design, exploration, and environmental storytelling.
• Lead the creation of blockouts, playable spaces, and prototype levels that validate core gameplay.
• Establish workflows and documentation standards for the level design team.
• Mentor and provide feedback to other level designers throughout development.

Gameplay Spaces

• Design engaging levels that support exploration, tension, combat, stealth, puzzles, and narrative moments.

• Craft environments that naturally guide players while maintaining mystery and discovery.

• Create memorable gameplay moments through layout, pacing, lighting collaboration, and player psychology.

• Build spaces that maximize replayability and player engagement without sacrificing immersion.

• Iterate rapidly based on playtest feedback.

• Design environments that create suspense through anticipation rather than constant action.

• Use architecture, visibility, traversal, and environmental storytelling to heighten fear.

• Collaborate with Audio and Narrative to create emotionally impactful sequences.

• Understand how player agency, vulnerability, and uncertainty contribute to memorable horror.

• Balance moments of tension with pacing that allows players to recover before the next scare.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Game Design to ensure levels reinforce gameplay systems.
• Collaborate with Environment Art to transition blockouts into visually compelling spaces.
• Work with Engineering to implement gameplay features and optimize level performance.
• Coordinate with Narrative to seamlessly integrate story beats into gameplay.
• Collaborate with Audio to maximize atmosphere, tension, and environmental storytelling.

Technical Ownership

• Build and iterate levels directly in Unreal Engine.
• Implement gameplay scripting using Blueprints or comparable visual scripting tools.
• Identify technical constraints early and collaborate on practical solutions.
• Help establish scalable level-building pipelines for production.
• Ensure levels meet performance and technical quality standards.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional level design experience.
• Experience leading level design on at least one shipped AAA or AA title.
• Deep understanding of player flow, pacing, encounter design, exploration, and navigation.
• Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine.
• Experience scripting gameplay interactions using Blueprint
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across disciplines.
• Ability to lead through influence while remaining hands-on with implementation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience shipping horror, survival horror, immersive sim, or narrative-driven action games.

• Strong understanding of first-person level design principles.

• Experience building vertical slices and prototype environments.

• Familiarity with lighting, environmental storytelling, and cinematic pacing.

• Experience mentoring designers and building level design processes.

• Knowledge of AI navigation, encounter tuning, and gameplay balancing.

• Experience with psychological horror, survival horror, or atmospheric thriller games.

• Strong understanding of environmental storytelling techniques.

• Experience collaborating with transmedia or established entertainment IP.

• Familiarity with modular environment construction.

• Passion for horror across games, film, television, and immersive entertainment, with a deep appreciation for what makes environments feel unsettling, memorable, and emotionally impactful.

Salary

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Final compensation within the applicable salary range will be determined based on factors such as the applicant’s experience, qualifications, and work location.

San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; & Seattle, WA DC Metropolitan Areas: $104,000 - $153,000 USD annually

Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; & Miami, FL Metropolitan Areas: $90,000 - $133,000USD annually

All Other U.S. Locations: $77,000 - $113,000 USD annually

Benefits

Mob Entertainment offers the following benefits to all eligible U.S.-based full-time employees: profit sharing; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) matching; FSA/HSA; paid time off; sick time; holidays; and parental leave.

Mob Entertainment is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and complies with all federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, military service, or any other protected class under applicable state or local law. Mob Entertainment also considers all qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with Fair Chance laws as well as any other applicable state and local laws.

• 7+ years of professional level design experience.• Experience leading level design on at least one shipped AAA or AA title.• Deep understanding of player flow, pacing, encounter design, exploration, and navigation.• Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine.• Experience scripting gameplay interactions using Blueprint.• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across disciplines.• Ability to lead through influence while remaining hands-on with implementation.