Remote Senior Combat Designer — Unreal Boss Encounters

SIDE; Braga; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 83,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive rate potential

Remote freelance contract

Job summary

Side is seeking a Senior Technical Combat Designer to lead boss and enemy combat design in Unreal Engine. You will own two combat characters or systems, wire attacks end-to-end, and iterate on balance for a polished combat experience.

The role emphasizes animation hookup, hitbox timing, and implementing features through Blueprints and animation tools. The freelance remote contract spans 3–6 months, with up to 40 hours per week and overlap with CEST hours.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing and implementing combat for video games.
• 0 ownership of 2+ combat characters or systems.
• Hands-on Unreal Engine experience with Blueprints, Behavior Trees, Animation Blueprints, and related animation systems.
• Experience with third-person combat, fighting games, shooters, or other combat-focused titles.
• Basic C++ knowledge and comfort using AI-assisted coding tools to support gameplay implementation.

Responsibilities

• Build and balance bosses and enemies in Unreal Engine with ownership of at least two combat characters or equivalent systems.
• Design attacks end to end, including animation hookup, hitbox timing, cancel windows, hit reactions, i-frames, and telegraphs.
• Increase combat variety and improve the overall combat experience through hands-on iteration and balancing.
• Apply animation principles to create responsive, impactful combat and integrate animations into gameplay.
• Implement combat using Unreal Blueprint systems and collaborate with engineering, animation, and VFX teams.

Skills

Unreal Engine

Animation principles

Blueprints

Behavior Trees

Animation Blueprints

C++ basics

Tools

Maya

MotionBuilder

Blender

Niagara

Job description

Side is seeking a Senior Technical Combat Designer to lead boss and enemy combat design in Unreal Engine. You will own two combat characters or systems, wire attacks end-to-end, and iterate on balance for a polished combat experience.

The role emphasizes animation hookup, hitbox timing, and implementing features through Blueprints and animation tools. The freelance remote contract spans 3–6 months, with up to 40 hours per week and overlap with CEST hours.