Technical Game Designer

That Game Company; Los Angeles (CA); Remote; USD 57,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking studio dedicated to creating meaningful gaming experiences. As a Technical Game Designer, you'll blend design and programming to enhance gameplay and technical systems. This role offers the chance to work on innovative projects, collaborate with talented teams, and contribute to a culture that values creativity and inclusivity. With a focus on player immersion and feedback, you'll help shape the future of interactive experiences. If you're passionate about games and eager to make a difference, this opportunity is perfect for you!

Benefits

Paid Time Off

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Pet Insurance

Compassionate leave

Pre-tax wellness stipend

Pre-tax work from home stipend

401K program with company match

Mental health resources

Discount portal

Support for professional development

Qualifications

• Proficient in C/C++ for 3D gameplay prototyping.
• Experience with online operation of live games.

Responsibilities

• Craft technical systems that enable gameplay and user interactions.
• Collaborate with engineering and design teams for feature implementation.

Skills

C

C#

C++

Visual scripting

Maya

3D game engines

Job description

thatgamecompany is best recognized for creating award-winning, enriching, and meaningful game titles such as Journey, Flower, and flOw. Sky is our most complex undertaking to date. It is a social network built around the values inherited from a powerful humanistic story. It is a live experience continuously evolving inside a global online theme park. We are also working on an unannounced game, look out for it soon!

If you believe games can bring out the best in us, we'd love to hear from you!

Available Positions

Technical Game Designer

Location

Remote - US

Type

Full time

Department

Design

Technical Game Designer

Remote – US and Canada only

We are a small studio dedicated to crafting unique and high-quality interactive experiences, and we are looking for a talented designer-programmer hybrid who will collaborate with both the engineering and design teams. The goal in this role is to drive the creation and improvement of core gameplay and technical systems and tools highly tuned for the level of rich feedback and player immersion that helped define our games.

An example week for this person might be: Attend a design meeting and discover the need for a new camera feature to support a new content release. Program the camera feature and jump into the level editor to test and refine its implementation. Then, improve the level editor’s toolset to enable the rest of the design team to make full use of your new feature in future levels. Of course, the role isn’t limited to just camera features. Any interactive system applies — procedural animation, cloth simulation, player controls, AI creatures, NPC interactions — use your imagination!

What you'll do here:

1. Crafting technical systems that enable gameplay (either alone or with a small team)
2. Create fluid user interactions with rich feedback and polished game feel
3. Enjoy enabling team members by improving the creative pipeline
4. Be comfortable with cross-disciplinary work and collaboration

Must haves:

1. Proficient in C, C# or C++ for quickly prototyping 3D gameplay
2. Visual scripting
3. Online operation of a live game
4. Maya or 3D game engines

Nice to haves:

1. Seek adventure and uncertainty in exploring experimental and risky game concepts
2. Believe in the practice of rapid prototyping and relentless iteration
3. Have a desire to create meaningful, enriching experiences that touch and inspire players

We offer:

• Paid Time Off, Holidays and Two Weeks Winter Break
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage starting on the first day
• Pet Insurance
• Compassionate leave for family care
• Pre-tax wellness stipend
• Pre-tax work from home stipend
• Access to a savings plan (401K program) with company match
• Mental health resources including Headspace membership and Employee Assistance Program (CCA)
• Discount portal for everyday goods and services
• Employee inclusive and diversity initiatives such as Grow Together
• Support for personal professional development

We look forward to meeting you!

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

The salary range for this position is $57,000 USD to $120,000 USD annually, with the opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on the Company’s compensation practices. Employees in this position are eligible to participate in the Company’s standard employee benefit programs, which currently include the following: medical, dental, vision, 401k, and paid time off.

thatgamecompany takes pride in cultivating a close-knit team culture and company vision. We believe that games should be played, shared and enjoyed by everyone. By shifting our mission and approach on what it means to create a game, we aim to nurture a welcoming environment where team members can experiment, collaborate and support each other to create truly innovative games. We value our team’s integrity, personal growth and contribution at every step.

All team members are expected to contribute to making our studio a more inclusive, positive environment for great people and great work to grow and flourish. If you feel an affinity for our work and wish to make a meaningful contribution to our mission, we would love to hear from you.