Design Director

Haven Studios Inc; Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Haven Studios Inc in Montreal is seeking an experienced Design Director to join their team. The Design Director will articulate the creative pillars into engaging gameplay and will manage a team of designers to ensure AAA quality standards.

Ideal candidates have over 6 years in game design and at least one major AAA title experience, along with strong leadership skills. Knowledge of Unreal Engine is a plus, and a passion for gameplay innovation is essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 6+ years of experience in game design with a AAA title.
• 2+ years of experience in managing and mentoring game designers.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and articulate the design vision.
• Manage and mentor a team of game designers.
• Translate abstract themes into clear gameplay structures.

Skills

Innovative & Analytical Thinker

Vision Communication

Live-Service & Multiplayer Literacy

Early Prototyping Comfort

Tools

Unreal Engine

Job description

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.

Position: Design Director

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

• 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.
• 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, argue, 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.

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