Lead Designer

Sideinc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Multicultural environment

Leading game services provider

Clear progression opportunities

Job summary

Side is a global video game development and services provider seeking a Lead Designer to shape gameplay, systems, and level design on shipped titles. You will lead design across co-development projects, partnering with internal teams and external clients to deliver engaging experiences.

Based in the UK, you will mentor designers, drive FPS-focused features, and ensure high-quality design through iteration and collaboration with engineering, art, and production.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Lead Designer, Principal Designer, or Design Director on shipped commercial titles.
• Deep expertise with Unreal Engine and a strong understanding of gameplay, systems, and level design.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and working directly with clients or external development partners.
• Strong FPS design experience, with a track record of improving gameplay flow, combat encounters, progression, and player engagement.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills, with the ability to balance creative vision against production realities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design vision and execution across co-development projects, acting as the primary design partner for both internal teams and client stakeholders.
• Drive gameplay, systems, level, and technical design initiatives from concept through delivery.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, art, production, and QA teams to create engaging, high-quality player experiences.
• Provide creative leadership, mentorship, and feedback to designers across multiple disciplines.
• Prototype, validate, and iterate on gameplay features, progression systems, level layouts, and player engagement mechanics.
• Review and improve gameplay flow, combat encounters, boss experiences, and overall game balance, with a particular focus on FPS and action-oriented experiences.
• Identify design risks early, solve complex production challenges, and ensure design quality is maintained throughout development.

Skills

Lead Designer

Unreal Engine

Cross-functional leadership

FPS design

Client-facing communication

Job description

At Side, we partner with some of the world's leading developers and publishers to solve complex production challenges and help bring exceptional games to life. From concept through live operations, our co-development teams work as trusted extensions of our clients' studios, contributing expertise across design, engineering, art, audio, QA, and production.

Requirements

What you will do:

• Lead the design vision and execution across co-development projects, acting as the primary design partner for both internal teams and client stakeholders.
• Drive gameplay, systems, level, and technical design initiatives from concept through delivery.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, art, production, and QA teams to create engaging, high-quality player experiences.
• Provide creative leadership, mentorship, and feedback to designers across multiple disciplines.
• Prototype, validate, and iterate on gameplay features, progression systems, level layouts, and player engagement mechanics.
• Review and improve gameplay flow, combat encounters, boss experiences, and overall game balance, with a particular focus on FPS and action-oriented experiences.
• Identify design risks early, solve complex production challenges, and ensure design quality is maintained throughout development.

What we are looking for:

• Proven experience as a Lead Designer, Principal Designer, or Design Director on shipped commercial titles.
• Deep expertise with Unreal Engine and a strong understanding of gameplay, systems, and level design.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and working directly with clients or external development partners.
• Strong FPS design experience, with a track record of improving gameplay flow, combat encounters, progression, and player engagement.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills, with the ability to balance creative vision against production realities.

Nice to have:

• Experience developing immersive VR experiences for Meta Quest, creating compelling first-person gameplay, and improving player engagement through level flow, encounter design, progression systems, and boss experiences.
• Confident client-facing communicator, able to present design solutions, manage stakeholder expectations, and build trusted relationships with development partners.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary.
• Dynamic, multicultural and fun environment.
• You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.
• We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.

About Side

Side(formerly PTW) is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 20 studios in 14 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets.

Experience our side of life. For more information, visit www.side.inc