Senior Unreal Combat Designer (Remote Contract)

Sideinc; Charleston (SC); Remote; USD 83,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Dynamic environment

Global employer

Job summary

Side is seeking a hands-on Senior Technical Combat Designer to help create and refine boss encounters, enemies, and combat systems in Unreal Engine. You will take a combat character or encounter from concept through in-engine execution and iteration, collaborating across design, animation, and engineering teams.

This remote freelance contract runs for approximately 3–6 months, up to 40 hours per week, with overlapping CEST hours.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing and implementing combat for video games, including ownership of 2+ combat characters or equivalent systems.
• Strong understanding of animation principles and combat feel, with the ability to identify why an attack doesn't land, read, or feel as intended.
• Hands‑on Unreal Engine experience with Blueprints, Behavior Trees, Animation Blueprints, and related animation systems.
• Experience with third‑person combat, fighting games, shooters, or other combat‑focused titles.
• Ability to author or modify animation using Maya, MotionBuilder, Blender, or similar tools.
• Working knowledge of combat frame data, hitstop, input buffering, cancel windows, hit reactions, and i-frames.
• Basic C++ knowledge and comfort using AI‑assisted coding tools to support gameplay implementation.
• Ability to work independently, take ownership of craft, and drive problems to solutions.

Responsibilities

• Combat & Encounter Design
• Build and balance bosses and enemies in Unreal Engine, with ownership of at least two combat characters or equivalent systems.
• Design attacks end to end, including animation hookup, hitbox timing, cancel windows, hit reactions, i-frames, and telegraphs.
• Increase combat variety and improve the overall combat experience through hands-on iteration and balancing.

Skills

Combat design

Animation feel

Independent ownership

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Tools

Unreal Engine

Maya/Blender

Niagara

MotionBuilder

C++ basics

Job description

Side is seeking a hands-on Senior Technical Combat Designer to help create and refine boss encounters, enemies, and combat systems in Unreal Engine. You will take a combat character or encounter from concept through in-engine execution and iteration, collaborating across design, animation, and engineering teams.

This remote freelance contract runs for approximately 3–6 months, up to 40 hours per week, with overlapping CEST hours.