Design Director

Haven Studios (Playstation Studios); Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Haven Studios (PlayStation Studios) seeks an experienced Design Director to translate creative pillars into scalable, engaging game systems. You will own the game's structural blueprint, ensure alignment of player fantasy and narrative context with gameplay, and guide a design team toward AAA standards.

You will also hire, lead and mentor designers, establishing clear direction and high quality bars, while collaborating with Engineering, UI/UX, Audio, and Live Operations to maintain cohesive

Qualifications

• Minimum of 6+ years of experience in game design.
• At least one shipped major AAA multiplayer title in a senior, lead, or principal role.
• Minimum of 2+ years of direct experience managing game designers.

Responsibilities

• Translate the Vision by partnering with the Creative Director to deconstruct themes into gameplay pillars and meta-structures.
• Align fantasy and narrative into cohesive mechanical elements.
• Build robust moment-to-moment gameplay, short-term hooks, and long-term retention loops.
• Establish design constraints and provide a focused framework for the team.
• Review and validate design work for mechanics solidity and alignment with the core vision.
• Direct a team of designers, conducting regular 1-on-1s and mentoring.
• Maintain a structured design environment with clear communication and constructive critique.
• Act as design ambassador across Engineering, UI/UX, Audio, and Live Operations.

Skills

AAA Experience

People Management

Live-Service Literacy

Prototype & Ideation

Tools

Unreal Engine

Job description

Position: Design Director

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Design Director to join the Haven team. The Design Director will take the core pillars from the Creative Director and articulate them into balanced, scalable, and engaging systemic loops.

You will own the structural blueprint of the game—ensuring that the player fantasy, narrative context and creative pillars translate beautifully into moment-to-moment gameplay, short-term loops, and long-term progression tracks. Additionally, you will hire, lead and organize a design team, mentoring designers to ensure the game vision and direction is executed at a AAA standard.

• Reporting: The Design Director will report directly to the Creative Director for the project.

Key Responsibilities

1. Design Direction & Vision Articulation

• Translate the Vision: Partner closely with the Creative Director to deconstruct abstract creative themes into clear, rationalized gameplay pillars and meta-structures.
• Align Fantasy & Narrative: Construct a comprehensive gameplay vision that weaves the game’s thematic fantasy and narrative context directly into cohesive mechanical elements.
• Systemic Architecture: Apply an innovative yet analytical approach to build robust moment-to-moment gameplay, short-term hooks, and long-term retention loops that perfectly suit the game's direction.
• Establish Creative Constraints: Define clear direction, intent, and structural boundaries for the design team, giving them a focused framework to maximize their creative freedom and innovation.
• Design Review & Validation: Establish high quality bars; review and validate all design work produced by the team to ensure mechanic solidity, balance, and alignment with the core vision.

2. Team Management & Studio Collaboration

• Manage & Mentor: Direct a team of game designers (Junior to Senior), conducting regular 1-on-1s, providing actionable performance feedback, and actively supporting their professional growth.
• Cultivate Design Standards: Maintain a structured, collaborative design environment that champions clear communication, objective analysis, and constructive criticism.
• Cross-Discipline Alignment: Act as the primary design ambassador for Engineering, UI/UX, Audio, and Live Operations, ensuring cross-functional clarity regarding design intent and vision.

Qualifications & Skills

Experience Required

• AAA Track Record: Minimum of 6+ years of experience in game design, with at least one shipped major AAA multiplayer title in a Senior, Lead, or Principal role.
• Pre-Production & Lifecycle Experience: Proven experience defining core loops during early conception and preparing complex systems for live-service stability.
• People Management: Minimum of 2+ years of direct experience managing, mentoring, and developing game designers.

Technical & Soft Skills

• Innovative & Analytical Thinker: A unique blend of out-of-the-box creative thinking and sharp analytical skills, capable of inventing fresh ideas and grounding them into logical, quantitative rules.
• Vision Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; an expert ability to articulate, argument, and pitch design concepts clearly to both the development team and studio leadership.
• Live-Service & Multiplayer Literacy: Deep experience navigating multiplayer architectural constraints, including matchmaking logic, playlist structures, anti-cheat considerations, and progression balancing within a live-service context (broadly applicable beyond traditional PvP frameworks).
• Early Prototyping Comfort: Ability to work lightly within a game editor to quickly validate and prototype design ideas during early conception phases.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of Unreal Engine.
• A strong passion for gameplay innovation and a keen understanding of evolving trends in the global gaming market.

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.