Senior Combat Designer - Freelance

CI Games Group; United States; Remote; USD 83,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 months freelance contract

Remote work with flexible CET core

Cutting-edge technologies

Diverse and inclusive workplace

Job summary

CI Games is seeking a Senior Combat Designer to shape future titles on a 5-month freelance contract. Remote work with flexible schedules (core hours 10am-4pm CET) enables collaboration with talent worldwide. Lead combat systems design, enemy archetypes, and balance while aligning with RPG progression and weapon scaling.

Apply Unreal Engine behaviours via Behaviour Trees and Blueprints, produce clear docs, and coordinate with production and art teams to ship polished gameplay on time.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Game Design experience.
• Demonstrable Combat Designer experience for multiple years.
• Deep passion for Soulslike genre.
• Shipped at least 1 AAA title in a design capacity.
• Excellent knowledge of gameplay mechanics and systems.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine and Blueprints.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Creative, open mindset and able to meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop combat systems and enemy design; refine core systems.
• Pitch, prototype, implement, balance, and ship enemy archetypes/bosses.
• Tune micro-level combat: animations, I-frames, hitboxes, frame-data.
• Collaborate with RPG mechanics, weapon leveling, stats, and builds.
• Implement combat behaviours in Unreal (Behaviour Trees, Animation Graphs, Blueprints).
• Provide technical requirements to Gameplay Programmers and collaborate on features.
• Build basic combat level setups communicating design intent to other teams.
• Address bugs and ensure a polished product through to shipping.
• Create clear design material; participate in usability and playtests.

Skills

Game Design

Combat Design

Soulslike expertise

Communication skills

Deadline driven

Tools

Unreal Engine

Blueprints

Job description

Join CI Games and be part of shaping the future of gaming. As we embark on an ambitious strategic roadmap with major releases planned for 2026-2028, we're seeking a talented and dedicated Senior Combat Designer to help us create ground-breaking experiences that captivate players worldwide.

Key Responsibilities:

Combat Systems & Enemy Design

• Develop our approach to combat by building upon and refining the project's core systems.
• Pitch, prototype, implement, balance, and ship a wide variety of enemy archetypes and/or bosses.
• Tune the combat experience at the micro level: animation lengths, I-frames, Hit boxes, and frame-data polish.
• Collaborate to structure enemy behaviour in conjunction with overarching RPG mechanics and game progression, including weapon levelling, stats, and character builds.

Technical Implementation & Oversight

• Implement character combat behaviours using Unreal features such as Behaviour Trees, Animation Graphs, and Blueprints.
• Provide Gameplay Programmers with comprehensive technical requirements and collaborate to achieve the desired feature implementation.
• Build basic combat level setups to communicate design intent to Level Design, Art, and Production departments.
• Address bugs and gameplay issues to ensure a stable, polished product through to shipping.

Collaboration & Documentation

• Work with other departments (Character Art, Animation, VFX, Audio, etc.) to ship characters with state-of-the-art levels of polish.
• Create clear, concise, and visually oriented design material explaining mechanics, features, and systems.
• Help assess project progress and quality by utilizing results from usability, focus, and in-house playtests.
• Provide constructive feedback and propose solutions to improve the quality of the current project or future titles.

Key Requirements:

• 5+ years of Game Design experience.
• Demonstrable prior experience as a Combat Designer for several years or in a comparable role.
• A deep passion for and expertise in the Soulslike genre.
• Preferably have shipped at least 1 AAA title in a design capacity.
• Excellent knowledge of gameplay mechanics, features, and what makes modern games work.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine and experience with the creation of Blueprints.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills are essential for this role.
• An open and creative mind with the ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines.

What we offer:

• 5 months freelance contract with immediate start.
• Remote work with flexible schedules (core working hours 10am-4pm CET), allowing you to work alongside talented individuals from around the world.
• An opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies and stay at the forefront of the gaming industry.
• A diverse and inclusive workplace that celebrates all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or social status.