Senior Combat Designer — Unreal 5 Enemies & AI

Abstraction Games; Eindhoven; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Abstraction Games is seeking a Senior Combat Designer to design and implement enemy combat systems in Unreal Engine 5. The role focuses on creating engaging, readable and fair encounters, collaborating across animation, AI and design teams. This fixed-term contract will run for three months with potential extension.

The candidate should bring 6–8 years in game design, AAA credits, and strong English communication. Remote work is not indicated; on-site collaboration is expected in the Netherlands.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Video Game Design, Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 6-8 years of experience in games in a relevant design role.
• Game Designer credits on at least 2 released AAA titles.
• Specialised knowledge in industry-standard software tools.
• Proficient with Unreal Engine or similar engines; PC/console platforms.
• Advanced verbal and written English communication skills.
• Strong presentation and pitching skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and implement enemies end-to-end in Unreal Engine 5, from concept to playable character.
• Design grounded melee combat with movesets, patterns, hits and flow.
• Process and integrate motion capture data for attacks, reactions and locomotion.
• Set up and adjust Animation Montages, tuning timing and recovery.
• Configure animation blending and motion warping for convincing enemy actions.
• Build and maintain enemy AI using State Trees for decision-making and coordination.
• Script and balance combat encounters based on playtests and feedback.
• Collaborate with other departments to define technical requirements and improve tools.
• Document enemy movesets, behaviors and tuning values.
• Understand technical constraints related to animation budgets, engine specifics, and framerate targets.

Skills

Unreal Engine

Enemy design

Animation integration

AI programming

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

State Trees

Animation Montages

Motion Capture

Job description

Abstraction Games is seeking a Senior Combat Designer to design and implement enemy combat systems in Unreal Engine 5. The role focuses on creating engaging, readable and fair encounters, collaborating across animation, AI and design teams. This fixed-term contract will run for three months with potential extension.

The candidate should bring 6–8 years in game design, AAA credits, and strong English communication. Remote work is not indicated; on-site collaboration is expected in the Netherlands.