Senior Game Design Consultant, EdTech Simulations

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 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.