Staff Hero Designer

Insomniac is looking for a Staff level Hero Designer, focused on combat, traversal, and 3Cs (Camera, Character, Controls) for an upcoming project. This role is accountable for the quality and on-time delivery of design and execution for one or more playable characters, including core combat and features like traversal, abilities, non-combat mechanics, camera, and more. Work will require hands-on, technical implementation and tuning for prototyping, iteration, and polish, as well as creative leadership and vision setting for playable characters.

The person in this role will drive the creative vision, gameplay design, and execution quality of new playable hero characters and collaborate with our Gameplay Programmers, Animators, VFX Artists, and Character Artists to create world class moment-to-moment gameplay.

The ideal candidates are self-driven, highly technical, and extremely creative, with deep experience in leading and creating high quality 3rd person gameplay. We’re looking for designers who value game feel, player clarity, and high levels of polish in their work and are searching for highly collaborative development environment.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Creative leadership and primary ownership of player character systems for one or more playable characters. Accountable for the design, prototyping, iteration and polish of hero core combat, as well as features such as movement / traversal, abilities, interactivity, progression, non-combat mechanics, allies, or game balance.
• Directly prototypes, implements, and iterates on Hero combat and non-combat gameplay through proprietary internal tools and scripting systems. Brings a focus on innovation, clarity, playability, and presentational polish to hero design work.
• Collaborates directly with Gameplay Programming and Animation partners to best leverage skills and creativity across both departments. Fosters a strong environment of creative collaboration across all disciplines
  Creative leadership for one or more development pods of cross-discipline contributors. Collaborates with Development Management to plan milestones, set priorities, and coordinate feedback.
• Works autonomously to drive quality, iterate, and innovate in service of the project’s creative goals and values. Is proactive about flagging problems, implementing solutions, and responding to feedback to continuously improve Hero gameplay. Drives collaboration with cross-discipline stakeholders for problem solving and alignment.
• Collaborates directly with Mission Designers and Combat Designers to integrate and support player work in Missions, encounters, and core combat gameplay.
• Works with Systems Designers, Gameplay Programmers, and the UI/UX team to help create compelling long-term gameplay through player progression systems and meaningful player growth.
• Collaborates with the Narrative Department, Mission Designers, and Mission Directors to support player-driven storytelling through player mechanics and interactive experiences.
• Writes and regularly updates clear player system documentation detailing the scope and feature set for player features. Creates tutorial videos and documentation to support as needed.
• Regularly reviews player work in progress, proactively gathers feedback, and drives iteration and quality. Accountable for creative quality of all assigned player work and for ensuring the team is hitting on-screen quality targets for each milestone.
• Collaborates with the Combat Director and project Game Director to ensure player design meets the project’s creative and technical goals and reaches Insomniac’s quality standards.
• Creates, tracks, and supports player standards and metrics across the whole experience to ensure consistency and quality. Directly supports Mission Design work with metrics as needed.
• Runs brainstorms / reviews, creates buy-in and alignment, and champions design vision and values through clear communication and inclusivity.
• Drives, documents, and disseminates standards, best practices, and creative process for Hero / player character design work across the studio. Serves as a Design Department subject matter expert in 3rd person player character design within the studio and keeps up with the state of the art across the industry.
• Drive innovation and improvement in internal design tools for 3rd person character prototyping, implementation, and iteration.
• Reviews and provides feedback on hero character work across the studio. Mentors and coaches other Hero Designers.
• Creates a safe, supportive, and creative work environment that exemplifies our studio values.
• May take on other gameplay systems design as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience:

• Eight or more years of professional game design experience, with at least one shipped title as a primary design owner of player combat and / or overall player character systems.
• Proven expertise in creating, tuning, and polishing high-quality player movement, combat, controls, and gameplay balance.
• Deep expertise in the current state and history of design craft across the games industry, especially 3rd person narrative games.
• High proficiency with modern game engines, such as Unreal or proprietary engines. Proven experience in scripting, prototyping, and iterating gameplay systems directly. Experience in 3D layout a plus.
• Proven ability to implement, iterate, and tune high-quality game feel matched with polished presentation.
• Extremely strong skills in written, verbal, and visual communication across disciplines.

Reasoning Skills:

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Computer Skills:

 Intermediate knowledge and experience with level editing tools and scripting (Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar editors). Intermediate knowledge of Maya or other major 3D modeling programs. Experience with animation tools or programming languages a plus.  Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Miro, Confluence or equivalent office software. 

Other Skills:

 Individual must have very good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with team members and other developers.  Strong communication skills including verbal and written skills are required.

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package. Click here to learn more.

This is a flexible role that can be remote, with varying pay ranges based on geographic location. For example, if you are based out of Seattle, the estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$148,000—$222,000 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Eight or more years of professional game design experience with at least one shipped title as primary design owner of player combat/character systems. Proven expertise in creating, tuning, and polishing high-quality player movement, combat, controls, and gameplay balance. Deep expertise in 3rd person narrative games. High proficiency with modern game engines (Unreal, Unity) and scripting for prototyping and iterating gameplay systems. Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills for cross-discipline collaboration. Intermediate knowledge of 3D modeling programs (Maya) and office software (Microsoft Office Suite, Miro, Confluence).