Lead Level Designer

Arcanaut Studios; Edmonton; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement savings contributions

Flex Benefit program

3 weeks vacation per year + studio hal

Job summary

Arcanaut Studios is seeking a Lead Level Designer to shape the architectural vision of our game’s world, balance gameplay flow, and ensure environments are visually stunning and optimized for player agency.

You will mentor a design team, collaborate with Narrative Design and Engineering, and drive level geometry, combat balance, and pacing from concept to playable reality. This role is remote-friendly with flexible from-home, in-office, and remote options across Canada.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Level Design with a focus on action RPG titles.
• Deep understanding of combat flow, AI navigation constraints and the intersection of level geometry with RPG mechanics.
• Advance expertise in Unreal Engine with a focus on world partition and landscape tools.
• Proven ability to mentor a team of designers and manage cross disciplinary collaboration with environment and animation teams.
• Exceptional ability to articulate complex design concepts and trade-offs.
• Mastery of spatial dynamics, player psychology, landmarking and pacing.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of level designers by providing clear goals and objectives for the team to hit
• Design and oversee the creation of environments that support combat, dynamic AI behaviors, varied engagement ranges and tactical use of cover and verticality
• Architect world layouts that balance intense encounter zones with breathing spaces to manage player fatigue and encourage discovery
• Collaboration with Narrative Design and Game Director to ensure that world geography supports complex mission objectives without breaking the immersion or player flow
• Design environments that scale in difficulty along the player’s RPG progression, ensuring hard gates and challenges remain satisfying as new abilities are unlocked
• Lead the team in using the environment to convey lore, history and objectives without over reliance on UI markers
• Partner with engineering, tech design and gameplay programmers to optimize use of mechanics and performance while maintaining high visual and gameplay fidelity
• Analyze playtest data and feedback to refine level flow, difficulty curves and storytelling
• Partner with external relationships to share, guide and influence level and mission development

Skills

Team leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Level design

Tools

Unreal Engine

Job description

ARCANAUT STUDIOS

Lead Level Designer

FULL-TIME | BC OR ALBERTA

(REMOTE FRIENDLY)

OUR ARC

Arcanaut Studios is a team of seasoned developers founded on the axiom that creative freedom and independence lead to better, more innovative games. We believe in the power of small, agile teams. We are decision makers with consistent collaboration across disciplines that drive the project vision and create a seamless player experience.

Arcanaut Studios is a Canadian company with offices in Edmonton, AB and Kelowna, BC. We offer a flexible work environment combining from-home, in-office, and remote work as well as competitive industry compensation and benefits. By joining us, you will be welcomed into a diverse team of talented developers creating an immersive universe of story, character, and discovery.

YOUR ARC

As the Lead Level Designer, you are a top tier creative and technical leader responsible for the architectural vision of a game’s world while also making sure the team is aligned with games vision and meeting our quality goals. You bridge the gap between high level game direction and hands on implementation, ensuring that environments are visually stunning and optimized for gameplay, flow, pacing and player agency. You will balance high intensity combat with expansive exploration and narrative depth while accounting for player progression.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of level designers by providing clear goals and objectives for the team to hit
• Design and oversee the creation of environments that support combat, dynamic AI behaviors, varied engagement ranges and tactical use of cover and verticality
• Architect world layouts that balance intense encounter zones with breathing spaces to manage player fatigue and encourage discovery
• Collaboration with Narrative Design and Game Director to ensure that world geography supports complex mission objectives without breaking the immersion or player flow
• Design environments that scale in difficulty along the player’s RPG progression, ensuring hard gates and challenges remain satisfying as new abilities are unlocked
• Lead the team in using the environment to convey lore, history and objectives without over reliance on UI markers
• Partner with engineering, tech design and gameplay programmers to optimize use of mechanics and performance while maintaining high visual and gameplay fidelity
• Analyze playtest data and feedback to refine level flow, difficulty curves and storytelling
• Partner with external relationships to share, guide and influence level and mission development

Qualifications and Experience

• 8+ years in Level Design with a focus on action RPG titles
• Deep understanding of combat flow, AI navigation constraints and the intersection of level geometry with RPG mechanics
• Advance expertise in Unreal Engine with a focus on world partition and landscape tools
• Proven ability to mentor a team of designers and manage cross disciplinary collaboration with environment and animation teams
• Exceptional ability to articulate complex design concepts and trade-offs
• Mastery of spatial dynamics, player psychology, landmarking and pacing

BENEFITS

• We offer a rewards package to help you live your best life while doing your best work, including medical and dental coverage, retirement savings contributions and a Flex Benefit program that has a wide array of coverage to best fit your personal situation.
• We offer 3 weeks of vacation per year in addition to summer and winter studio breaks that are each two weeks long.
• The hiring range for this position is $100,000 – $165,000 CDN in addition to a bi-yearly performance-based bonus. The base pay may vary depending on the candidate’s region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.