Lead Game Designer

About Kinetic Games

We’re an independent games studio best known for creating Phasmophobia, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. Our team is passionate, creative, and collaborative and we’re looking for someone equally enthusiastic about games to join our growing team.

We’re a small but fast growing, friendly team that values creativity, openness, and personal growth. Whether you’re helping various departments or talking about your favourite horror game, you’ll be part of a supportive environment where passion and curiosity are celebrated. You’ll be joining a small but ambitious team where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your development truly matters.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to how we work together every day. We aim to build a team with diverse experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. We believe great games start with an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute, grow, and succeed. Applications from all qualified candidates are encouraged. Equal opportunities are provided throughout our recruitment and employment practices.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. We'll work with you to understand your needs and provide appropriate support wherever reasonably practicable.

About the role:

• We are looking for an organised and experienced Lead Game Designer to lead the design of content updates for Phasmophobia. You will work closely with the Game Director to translate the overall creative vision into clear, cohesive gameplay experiences, systems, and features.
• You will be responsible for driving the design process across the development team, ensuring features are well-defined, appropriately scoped, and delivered to a consistently high standard. Alongside owning key areas of design yourself, you will support and guide other designers, helping establish strong design practices, documentation standards, and workflows across the studio.
• You will collaborate closely with every development team to ensure gameplay features meet the creative vision. This role is ideal for an experienced designer who combines strong hands-on design skills with leadership, communication, and the ability to provide clear direction within a fast-paced, iterative live game environment.

This role is hybrid based at our office in Southampton. At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Work closely with the Game Director to translate the creative direction into detailed gameplay features, mechanics, systems, and content.
• Lead the game design discipline, providing direction, support, and feedback to other designers.
• Take ownership of the overall quality, consistency, and clarity of game design across updates.
• Own key gameplay features and systems from initial concept through implementation, iteration, balancing, and release.
• Review and provide feedback on design work to ensure it aligns with the game's creative direction and established design principles.
• Establish and maintain clear design processes, documentation standards, and best practices across the design team.
• Create and oversee clear, detailed, and actionable design documentation for cross-discipline teams.
• Break high-level creative direction into actionable design work and help distribute design ownership across the team.
• Mentor and support designers, helping them develop their design skills, decision-making, ownership, and understanding of Phasmophobia.
• Identify gameplay, scope, UX, and implementation risks early and work proactively with stakeholders to resolve them.
• Collaborate closely with production to ensure design work is appropriately prioritised, scoped, and aligned with project milestones.
• Work closely with programmers to improve designer workflows, tools, pipelines, and the ability for designers to implement and iterate on content independently.
• Confidently use Unity Editor tools to tune gameplay, implement content, prototype ideas, and iterate on features hands-on.
• Facilitate design reviews and help resolve design problems or conflicting requirements between disciplines.
• Gather and interpret internal, community, and gameplay feedback to improve player experience, gameplay readability, balance, and feature quality.
• Play and test new updates regularly, ensuring the design team has a strong understanding of the game as a whole and that features meet gameplay, usability, and quality expectations.
• Help identify opportunities to improve existing gameplay systems and the overall player experience

Requirements:

• Expert understanding of Phasmophobia and a passion for horror and puzzle games.
• Previous experience as a Lead Game Designer or equivalent within a large development team.
• At least 1 shipped PC or Console game as a credited Game Designer, Senior Game Designer, Lead Game Designer, Game Director or equivalent, with a strong portfolio of gameplay design work.
• Significant professional game design experience with a strong understanding of the complete feature development process.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or providing design direction to other designers.
• Strong experience designing multiplayer, horror, survival, or atmospheric gameplay systems.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to provide clear design direction across multiple disciplines.
• Strong understanding of gameplay systems, balancing, progression, pacing and player experience.
• Experience taking high-level creative direction and developing it into detailed, actionable designs.
• Strong experience writing, reviewing, and maintaining design documentation.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills, with the confidence to make design decisions.
• A collaborative mindset and confidence working closely with discipline leads, production, and senior stakeholders.
• Eligibility to work in the UK.

Nice to Have:

• Experience working on live-service or regularly updated games.
• Experience working on puzzle or investigation mechanics.
• Experience working on a VR game.
• Strong experience using Unity Editor.
• Experience prototyping gameplay features directly within a game engine.

Benefits & Perks:

💰Comprehensive Reward Package

💼 Enhanced Employer Match Pension Scheme

💸 Annual Bonus

🍽️ Weekly Free Team Lunches 

🎉 Regular Social Events 

🏠 Hybrid & Flextime Working 

⚽ Access to Southampton Football Club Tickets - subject to availability and sponsor allocation

📦 Relocation Package (within the UK only)

🚗Electric Vehicle Car Scheme

🏅 Employee of the Month Vouchers

🧘 ♀️ Personal Wellbeing Allowance

🤝 Recruitment Referral Scheme

🎓 Training & Development Budget

🚀 Training & Career Development 

💚 Vitality Health Insurance
 

🛡️ Aviva Life Insurance

🎂 30 days Holiday in Total

🎄 Christmas Studio Shutdown

Expert understanding of Phasmophobia and a passion for horror and puzzle games; Previous experience as a Lead Game Designer or equivalent within a large development team; At least 1 shipped PC or Console game as a credited Game Designer, Senior Game Designer, Lead Game Designer, Game Director or equivalent, with a strong portfolio of gameplay design work; Significant professional game design experience with a strong understanding of the complete feature development process; Experience leading, mentoring, or providing design direction to other designers; Strong experience designing multiplayer, horror, survival, or atmospheric gameplay systems; Excellent communication skills and the ability to provide clear design direction across multiple disciplines; Strong understanding of gameplay systems, balancing, progression, pacing and player experience; Experience taking high-level creative direction and developing it into detailed, actionable designs; Strong experience writing, reviewing, and maintaining design documentation; Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills, with the confidence to make design decisions; A collaborative mindset and confidence working closely with discipline leads, production, and senior stakeholders; Eligibility to work in the UK.