Game Design Consultant

Rowohlt Verlag GmbH; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 96,000 - 179,000; Part time

Job summary

Macmillan Learning is expanding its interactive learning capabilities and seeks a Senior Game Design Consultant to bring dedicated game design expertise across simulations, mini-games, and interactives.

You will partner with product designers, researchers, product managers, software engineers, and content creators, contributing fresh game design thinking to how learners and instructors experience our digital products.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated game design craft, with a portfolio showing strong mechanics, systems design, and player feedback loops.
• Skilled at breaking simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support scenario templatization.
• Strong visual storytelling and storyboarding ability, translating complex ideas into narrative arcs and branching paths.
• Comfortable moving between high-level mechanics design, hands-on grayboxing, and narrative framing as an independent contributor.

Responsibilities

• Architect core loops, progression models, and level layouts for scenario-driven learning simulations.
• Develop visual storyboards mapping narrative arcs, character contexts, and branching player choices.
• Design lightweight mini-games and interactive widgets that complement digital course materials.
• Break simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support templatized scenario development.
• Collaborate with product designers, researchers, product managers, engineers, and content creators to align interactive concepts with learning goals.
• Coordinate with engineers to ensure game mechanics translate cleanly into production builds.
• Use AI tools to prototype assets and test game feel during the design process.

Skills

Game design

Systems design

Storyboarding

Independent contributor

Tools

Unity

Phaser

PixiJS

WebGL

Job description

Macmillan Learning is a part of the family-owned Holtzbrinck group of companies and is one of the leading educational technology companies. Through deep partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and improve outcomes. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire student curiosity and measure progress. Macmillan Learning is comprised of renowned brands including Bedford/St. Martins, W.H. Freeman, Worth Publishers, Sapling Learning, SkyFactor, Late Nite Labs, EBI-MAPworks, i[lt]clicker, REEF and Hayden-McNeil.

Product Management

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned digital learning company that inspires what's possible for every learner. Our tools, content, and services are grounded in research and designed to support learning, wherever and however it takes place. To learn more, please visit our newsroom or macmillanlearning.com.

The Engagement

This is a contractor opportunity and does not constitute an offer of employment with Macmillan Learning.

We're expanding our interactive learning capabilities and looking for a Senior Game Design Consultant to bring dedicated game design expertise across a range of projects, from scenario-driven simulations to lightweight mini-games and interactives. You'll partner with a multidisciplinary group of product designers, researchers, product managers, software engineers, and content creators, contributing fresh game design thinking to how our learners and instructors experience our digital products.

Reporting to the Director of Product Design, your work will directly shape the interactive experiences that bring our learning content to life.

Scope of Services

• You'll architect core loops, progression models, and level layouts for scenario-driven learning simulations.
• You'll develop visual storyboards mapping narrative arcs, character contexts, and branching player choices.
• You'll design lightweight mini-games and interactive widgets that complement digital course materials.
• You'll break simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support templatized scenario development.
• You'll collaborate with product designers, researchers, product managers, engineers, and content creators to align interactive concepts with learning goals.
• You'll coordinate with engineers to ensure game mechanics translate cleanly into production builds.
• You'll use AI tools to prototype assets and test game feel during the design process.

Expected Deliverables and Outcomes

• Simulation Design Specifications: Documentation of core loops, progression models, and level layouts for scenario-driven simulations, structured for reuse across scenarios, industries, or difficulty tiers.
• Storyboards and Narrative Maps: Visual storyboards covering narrative arcs, character contexts, and branching player-choice paths, delivered in a format ready for team review and engineering handoff.
• Mini-Game and Interactive Prototypes: Playable prototypes of lightweight mini-games or interactive widgets for stakeholder review.
• Engineering Handoff Documentation: Mechanics specifications prepared for the engineering team, aligned with the relevant engine or framework.

Experience and Capabilities

Required Capabilities

• Demonstrated game design craft, with a portfolio showing strong mechanics, systems design, and player feedback loops.
• Skilled at breaking simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support scenario templatization.
• Strong visual storytelling and storyboarding ability, translating complex ideas into narrative arcs and branching paths.
• Comfortable moving between high-level mechanics design, hands‑on grayboxing, and narrative framing as an independent contributor.

Preferred Capabilities

• Engine or framework literacy (e.g., Unity, Phaser, PixiJS, WebGL) sufficient to hand off specs to an engineering team.
• Experience using AI generation tools to accelerate design workflows.
• Background in EdTech or education-focused product work.
• Interest in turning abstract concepts into satisfying, rewarding gameplay loops.

We are looking forward to your speculative application.