Technical Designer (Narrative)

Job Title: Technical Designer (Narrative)

Location: Remote or On-site in Alpharetta, GA

Department: Narrative

Reports to: Narrative Lead

Type: Full-time

About Us

As an independent developer and publisher, Templar develops the games that we want, on our own schedule. We are actively staffing up for both in-house game development and supporting published titles. Templar provides a professional yet non-corporate environment where every team member's input and collaboration matters. Based in Alpharetta, GA just north of Atlanta, Templar is in the perfect area for those that enjoy sunny weather and a relatively low cost of living.

About the Role

We're looking for a Technical Narrative Designer who can bridge the gap between storytelling and gameplay, bringing our narrative vision to life in Unreal Engine 5.

Working closely with writers, game designers, artists, programmers, and project leadership, you'll take scripts and mission designs from concept to playable implementation. You'll build and maintain dialogue systems, implement narrative events and mission logic, and help ensure that player choices and actions have meaningful consequences.

This is a hands-on implementation role for someone who understands both the creative and technical sides of interactive storytelling. You'll need strong problem-solving skills, an eye for detail, and the ability to find practical solutions that support the intended player experience. 

Key Responsibilities

• Narrative Implementation: Translate scripts, branching dialogue, and mission specifications into playable experiences in Unreal Engine 5, using content authored in tools such as Articy Draft.
• Gameplay Integration: Collaborate with writers and game designers to integrate narrative seamlessly with gameplay mechanics, including player choices, puzzles, exploration, and consequences.
• Technical Problem-Solving: Build, maintain, and troubleshoot narrative logic, triggers, and events. Identify opportunities to improve implementation workflows and develop reusable solutions.
• Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Work with narrative, design, art, audio, and programming teams to identify and resolve implementation challenges while preserving creative intent.
• Cinematics and Audio: Support the implementation of in-engine narrative sequences, character dialogue, voice-over, subtitles, and localization-ready content.
• Supporting Narrative Content: Implement and maintain item descriptions, journal entries, environmental storytelling, codex/lore entries, and UI text.
• Testing and Iteration: Test and debug narrative content, track issues through resolution, and iterate based on playtesting, team feedback, and evolving creative direction.
• Content Management: Maintain organized narrative data and implementation documentation, ensuring that in-game content stays synchronized with scripts and design specifications. 

Requirements

• Shipped at least one video game in a narrative design, technical design, or comparable implementation role.
• Hands-on experience implementing and debugging narrative content in Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprints, dialogue systems, triggers, and quest or mission logic.
• Experience working with version control in a collaborative development environment.
• Strong understanding of interactive storytelling, branching dialogue, and reactive narrative systems.
• Strong organizational skills and experience managing structured content and data, including spreadsheets.
• Ability to troubleshoot technical challenges, communicate implementation constraints, and collaborate on practical solutions.
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and comfortable working collaboratively in a remote or distributed team. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion for history, ancient cultures, or biblical-era storytelling, with an appreciation for cultural and religious sensitivity.
• Experience developing narrative-heavy games, including adventure games, RPGs, choice-driven experiences, or historical titles.
• Familiarity with Articy Draft, Unreal Sequencer, Perforce, Google Sheets, Jira, or Confluence.
• Experience with voice-over implementation, line IDs, string tables, subtitles, and localization workflows.
• Experience developing reusable tools, templates, or automation to improve narrative implementation workflows, including AI-assisted solutions.
• Background in creative writing, screenwriting, or history-related fields. 

Templar offers a highly competitive salary and benefits package, along with a professional but non-corporate working environment.

This is a full-time position, available remotely or on-site at our studio in Alpharetta, GA. Remote candidates should be available for several hours of overlap with Eastern Time working hours.

How to Apply

Please include a resume and portfolio or samples demonstrating your experience implementing interactive narrative. Examples might include an Unreal Engine project, a playable Twine or ink experience, or implementation documentation where NDAs permit.

If you're excited about bringing stories to life through gameplay, enjoy solving creative and technical challenges, and believe in putting Entertainment First, we'd love to hear from you.

Shipped at least one video game in a narrative design, technical design, or comparable implementation role. Hands-on experience implementing and debugging narrative content in Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprints, dialogue systems, triggers, and quest or mission logic. Experience working with version control in a collaborative development environment. Strong understanding of interactive storytelling, branching dialogue, and reactive narrative systems. Strong organizational skills and experience managing structured content and data, including spreadsheets. Ability to troubleshoot technical challenges, communicate implementation constraints, and collaborate on practical solutions. Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and comfortable working collaboratively in a remote or distributed team.