Lead Level Designer

Sumo Digital; India; Hybrid; INR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Hybrid work model

Flexible working

22 holidays

8 festive holidays

4 statutory holidays

Birthday day off

Paternity leave

Maternity leave

Gaming subscription

Job summary

Sumo India is seeking Lead Level Designers to craft engaging, readable, and performant gameplay spaces for multi-platform titles, collaborating with UK teams. You will prototype, build, and polish levels with a focus on vision, mechanics, and technical constraints.

Lead responsibilities include defining standards, guiding other designers, and driving innovation while ensuring world-building quality across open world, action-adventure, platforming, and racing styles.

Qualifications

• Understanding of Level Design theory and concepts such as spatial design, player navigation, pacing, and encounter flow.
• Experience with industry-standard game engines and design tools.
• Fluency in English with excellent communication and feedback skills.
• Professional experience in Game Development, in Level Design.
• Experience collaborating with outsourced or external development teams in multiple time-zones.
• Background spanning genres such as open world, action-adventure, platforming and/or racing titles.
• Familiarity with performance, memory, and technical constraints in world building.

Responsibilities

• Understand level design theory and concepts, and apply them to senior-level work on project level spaces.
• Collaborate with Design, Art, Code, Production, and Audio to deliver level experiences that align with project vision.
• Build and implement world and level spaces, integrating missions, objects, gameplay mechanics, and narrative elements.
• Engage in playtesting and feedback loops to capture player insights and inform improvements.
• Work with Technical Design to ensure content is robust, performant, and memory-efficient.

Skills

Team collaboration

Level design theory

Gameplay pacing

World building

Playtesting feedback

Communication skills

Tools

Game engines

Design tools

Job description

Role Overview

Sumo India are looking for Lead Level Designers of all levels to join our growing team of designers focused on building robust and cohesive levels and gameplay experiences for a variety of multi-platform titles, in collaboration with our UK based teams. As a Lead Level Designer at Sumo, you will be responsible for creating engaging, readable, and performant gameplay spaces that support the game’s vision, mechanics, narrative, and technical constraints. Working closely with technical designers and environment artists, you will prototype, build, iterate, and polish levels to a high standard of quality.

Relevant Skills and Experience

• Collaborate with Design, Art, Code, Production, and Audio teams to define and deliver level experiences in line with the project vision.
• Craft the second-to-second and moment-to-moment gameplay experience through spatial design, pacing and player flow.
• Build and implement world and level spaces, integrating missions, level objects, gameplay mechanics, combat and narrative elements as needed.
• Engage in playtesting and feedback loops to capture player-centric insights and inform iterative improvements.
• Work closely with Technical Design to ensure that content is robust and implemented efficiently, and that it meets performance, memory and technical requirements.

Level‑Specific Expectations

• Lead / Principal Level Designer
  • Defines project Level Design standards, work flows, and best practices.
  • Leads other Level Designers within the project or studio.
  • Works closely with Direction to uphold Game Vision.
  • Drives innovation and creative thinking in the Level Design field.

Key Responsibilities

Essential

• Understanding of Level Design theory and concepts such spatial design, player navigation, pacing, and encounter flow, appropriate to seniority.
• Experience working with industry‑standard game engines and design tools.
• Fluency in English with excellent communication and feedback skills, both written and verbal.
• Professional experience in Game Development, in the field of Level Design.
• Experience collaborating with outsourced or external development teams in multiple time‑zones.
• A background spanning varying genres such as open world, action‑adventure, platforming and/or racing titles
• Familiarity with performance, memory, and technical constraints in world building.

Desirable

What's in it for you?

• Financial: Annual bonus, an employee referral scheme, 1st time home buyer bonus, Wedding bonus.
• Work‑life balance: Hybrid work model, Flexible working, 22 contractual days holiday, 8 festive holidays, 4 statutory holidays, birthday day‑off, 4 weeks of paternity leave, Maternity leave as per law, and options to buy or sell up to a week of annual leave*.
• Health and Wellbeing: Health insurance, life insurance, Mental health service, critical illness cover*, and funded flu vaccines/eye tests.
• Personal Development: Structured pathways, regular appraisals, annual salary reviews, 5 learning days per annum, access to on demand Sumo Developers Conference learning SDCXtra.
• Extra Perks: A variety of in‑studio perks, regular care packages, studio days out (family welcome), sabbaticals (at 5 years of service), and an annual gaming subscription.