Lead Open World Designer

Absurd Ventures; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation time

Sick time

Company holidays

Parental leave

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401(k) matching

Bonus and equity potential

Job summary

Absurd Ventures in Santa Monica, CA is seeking a Lead Open World Designer to shape the game\'s open world, its systems and content. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team delivering immersive experiences rich with exploration, encounters, and story-driven gameplay.

You\'ll partner with narrative and engineering, balancing population and encounters, while pushing innovation and hands-on contribution on the playable experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in open-world design with leadership experience.
• Ability to blend AI, systems, mechanics and scripted content.
• Strong population and encounter design knowledge.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive design and implementation of immersive open-world content.
• Collaborate with narrative team to develop new content ideas.
• Align open-world content with narrative goals and player experience.
• Leverage core systems to create dynamic, player-responsive experiences.
• Lead across disciplines and iterate with rapid playtesting.

Skills

Open-world design

Lead Designer

AI systems design

World balancing

Leadership

Communication

Job description

Summary

As the Lead Open World Designer, you will be the primary vision holder for the open world, its systems, and content. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver a best-in-class open-world experience rich with characters, encounters, side missions, puzzles, secrets, discoverables, collectables, and more.

Core Responsibilities

• Drive the design and implementation of engaging, immersive, interactive open-world content that encourages exploration and emphasizes a mix of fun, varied gameplay, worldbuilding and storytelling.
• Work closely with the narrative team to develop ideas for new content.
• Develop and execute the design vision and strategy, ensuring that open-world content aligns with the game's overall narrative, thematic, and player experience goals.
• Leverage the game's core systems and mechanics to create dynamic and unpredictable open-world experiences that adapt to player choices and actions.
• Continuously seek opportunities to innovate, challenge conventions, and push the boundaries of open-world design.
• Rally designers, engineers, animators, artists, and external co-dev partners to deliver playable progress at regular intervals as part of a rapid iterative process.
• Incorporate feedback from peers, playtests, and senior leadership to refine and pivot as the game demands.
• Go beyond documentation and management to lead from the trenches, with hands-on contributions to the playable experience.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation and iteration.

Core Qualifications

• 5 or more years of experience in open-world design.
• Prior experience as a Lead Designer.
• Knack and passion for blurring the lines between AI, systems, mechanics and scripted content to create deep, layered worlds in which stories can unfold organically through exploration and gameplay.
• Strong understanding of population and encounter design and open-world content balancing.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Innovative thinker with creative problem-solving skills who thrives in a collaborative team environment.

Plus If...

• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams
• Experience in UE4 or UE5
• Experience working with co-development partners

Description

• Full time job with benefits
• Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA
• Office is located near downtown Santa Monica - near metro and freeways.

The base pay range for this position is $150,000 to $175,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.