Senior Level Designer

Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada <p>Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.</strong></p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>Blackbird Interactive is looking for an experienced <strong>Senior Level Designer</strong> to help build and deliver high-quality gameplay spaces for an action RPG focused on fast-paced combat, character progression, exploration, and replayability. This role focuses on designing levels, encounters, and environments that create satisfying combat opportunities, reward exploration, and support a wide variety of player builds and abilities.</p> <p>You'll work closely with systems design, combat design, art, narrative, audio, and engineering to create spaces that complement the game's core combat systems while providing strong pacing, readability, and a sense of discovery. The role involves collaborating with leadership to align content with the overall creative vision while owning levels end-to-end, from initial layout and blockout through implementation, iteration, and polish. As a senior designer, you'll be expected to independently solve complex level design problems, provide strong design judgment, and help establish a high quality bar for playable content across the game.</p> <p></p>\n<p></p><p><br></p><b>Responsibilities</b><div> <ul> <li> <p>Collaborate with combat, systems, narrative, art, engineering, audio, and production to create levels that support the established creative vision and core gameplay pillars</p> </li> <li> <p>Own levels end-to-end, including layouts, blockouts, combat spaces, encounters, traversal, exploration, pacing, and player flow</p> </li> <li> <p>Design engaging combat spaces that support varied enemies, character builds, abilities, positioning, and different approaches to combat</p> </li> <li> <p>Create rewarding exploration through optional paths, secrets, environmental storytelling, and meaningful rewards while maintaining clear navigation and progression</p> </li> <li> <p>Script and implement gameplay events, encounters, objectives, triggers, and environmental interactions directly in engine</p> </li> <li> <p>Test, debug, and iterate on levels using playtest feedback to improve combat flow, difficulty, pacing, readability, and replayability</p> </li> </ul> </div><p><br></p><b>Requirements</b><div> <ul> <li> <p>A minimum of 8 years of game development experience, with significant experience designing and implementing levels for action, RPG, or combat focused games</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience shipping multiple titles, including at least one in a senior or equivalent level design role</p> </li> <li> <p>Proven ability to independently own complex levels from initial concept and blockout through implementation, iteration, and final polish</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong understanding of action RPG level design, including combat spaces, encounter pacing, exploration, progression, player guidance, and replayability</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong hands-on experience with level editing, gameplay scripting, and in-engine implementation, with the ability to prototype, debug, and iterate quickly</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong design judgment, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to balance gameplay quality, creative goals, technical constraints, and production realities</p> </li> </ul> </div><p><br></p><b>Pluses</b><div> <ul> <li> <p>Passion for action RPGs centered on combat, character builds, loot, progression, and exploration</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience designing levels for an isometric or elevated gameplay camera, with an understanding of its impact on combat readability, navigation, and composition</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience creating replayable content that supports different character builds, abilities, difficulty levels, or repeated playthroughs</p> </li> <li> <p>Appreciation for systemic combat and how level geometry, enemy composition, hazards, and interactive elements combine to create varied encounters</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience designing dungeons, interconnected environments, procedural or modular level content, or other repeatable gameplay spaces</p> </li> <li> <p>Strong instincts for environmental storytelling, gameplay readability, polish, and identifying opportunities to improve the player experience through iteration</p> </li> </ul> </div><p><br></p><p></p>\n<div>$115,000 - $149,500 a year</div>\n<br/><br/>Please mention the word **PERSONAGES** and tag RMjA5LjQyLjI4LjExOA== when applying to show you read the job post completely (#RMjA5LjQyLjI4LjExOA==). 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