Senior Game Designer (Combat)

Naughty Dog; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 145,100 - 181,400; Full time

Job summary

Naughty Dog is seeking a seasoned Combat Designer to lead enemy archetypes and advanced AI behavior in a Santa Monica studio. You will collaborate across design, art, animation, and programming to craft memorable enemies and balanced combat experiences.

Bring 5+ years in combat/technical design for action-adventure titles, shipped titles, and strong scripting capability. Expect leadership responsibilities and ongoing collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of industry experience in combat design or technical design for action-adventure/shooter games.
• At least one shipped title in a combat design or similar role; experience with behavior trees or NPC AI is preferred.
• Strong coding ability; Computer Science degree preferred though not required.
• Proficient with game engines and tools (Unreal Engine, Unity) and scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting).
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentorship skills.
• Knowledge of modern action-adventure and shooter game trends and narrative interplay.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes from concept to polish.
• Collaborate with AI programmers to develop NPC tech and tune enemy AI behaviors.
• Work with animators on locomotion, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and unique archetypes.
• Partner with Design to prototype, implement, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems.
• Maintain documentation outlining the core vision of enemy archetypes.

Skills

Combat design

NPC AI concepts

Leadership

Communication

Engine knowledge

Scripting familiarity

Education

Computer Science degree (preferred)

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

C#

Lua

Visual Scripting

Job description

Ability to work onsite from our Santa Monica, CA based studio is required.

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Part I is now available for the first time on PC.

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

What You Will Do

• Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
• Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implementing and tuning enemy AI behaviors
• Work with animators to develop enemy locomotion and traversal, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and other custom abilities. Make every enemy archetype feel unique and memorable
• Collaborate with the Design team to conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems
• Communicate with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the enemies you’re owning
• Write and maintain documentation that establishes the core vision of the enemy archetypes
• Drive communication and collaboration for enemies you design and the levels they are in, ensuring communication across disciplines and meeting deadlines
• Effective and respectful communicator and collaborator, both with other designers and members of other departments
• Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems and fine-tune them based on player experiences
• Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team

What Skills You Will Use

• 5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter games
• At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts preferred
• Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not required
• Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
• Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the “let’s try it” mentality
• Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketching
• Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trends
• Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combat
• A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactful
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills

The estimated USA base pay range for this zone (Los Angeles area) is listed below. This role may be eligible for additional compensation packages that includes annual bonus and other incentive plans.

$145,100—$181,400 USD

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