Design Director

Description

THE ROLE:

ProbablyMonsters is looking for a talented Design Director who is not only an accomplished game designer but also a proven leader, with a drive to ship. The ideal candidate is incredibly passionate about several areas of game design and the full scope of the game development process. They know how to: responsibly grow teams and ship a project, recognize, and cultivate talent at all experience levels, can adeptly flex their management and communication styles, and understand how to manage and protect a diverse group of individual developers. Ideally, this person will be responsible for aiding the design to deliver key milestone phases with a focus on shipping. You enhance our existing design staff, hire, and manage new designers but will also be responsible for facilitating amazing gameplay experiences that resonate with our customer base, follow games, creative direction, and product direction.

WHO YOU ARE:

• You recognize team health is imperative in building amazing games and a sustainable work environment.
• You lead from the front and are comfortable establishing accountability and communicating clear expectations, both for yourself and your reports. Set examples and empower your designers to collaborate with you in achieving the best possible outcomes.
• You are not afraid to take creative risks and work cross-discipline to explore novel solutions.
• You are comfortable partnering with other directors to ensure that we maximize the potential impact of all disciplines on the final quality of the design.
• Collaboration, mentorship, and vision are second nature to you as you craft, lead, and steer all aspects of design and development.
• You thrive in iteration and foster a healthy cycle of prototype, test, iterate, and polish in all areas.
• You love challenging third-person action RPGs and are excited by the possibility to bring something new to the genre.
• You are comfortable being a role model not just for the design team, but for the entire studio.
• You create a positive, forward-focused environment that proactively identifies and prioritizes solutions, not just problems.
• You are an avid explorer, and you drive curiosity in the design space while communicating effectively across departments and experience levels to create excitement and reach consensus.
• You are excited about working in an Established Creative Direction, world, and game direction.
• Just thinking about Angels, Demons, Dragons, Knight, Wizards, Vampires, and lots and lots of spikes gets your creative energy churning full speed ahead like a non-stop train on the highway to Hell.
• You believe in the power of small teams with strong outsourcing and Co Development partners.
• You rally and unite not just with the design team but the whole team towards game direction, shipping, and are always customer focused.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• You will lead the high-level design of the project, establishing clear design goals and expectations for deliverables.
• You will coordinate with all departments to define milestones and maintain alignment on project goals, quality bar, and production risks and mitigations.
• You will draft and diligently maintain detailed and articulate documentation related to game features, systems, mechanics, tools, development processes, best practices, and design career development.
• You will manage, grow, and mentor other designers and are willing to extend a helping hand whenever necessary, without resorting to micromanagement.
• You will help create and refine development pipelines with a focus on quality and efficiency.
• You will spend time working in-engine, helping to build, test, and iterate on systems, features, and content.
• You will be an arbiter of quality, routinely reviewing and providing feedback on others' work before it ships to consumers and as often as necessary for successful playtests.
• You will have some fun! You will foster a team environment that thrives together under your leadership and prizes collaboration, comradery, creativity, diversity, and joy for the craft of game development.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• You still find time to play games. You do your research, can empathize with our players and team, and bring an unending desire to make a positive impact through our shared work.
• Deep game design experience with at least one shipped commercial title in a leadership role.
• Demonstrable expertise in establishing, maintaining, and effectively communicating design vision across disciplines.
• Strong speaking, writing, and general communication skills, including the ability to craft detailed and articulate documentation, feedback, and presentation materials.
• Demonstrable and mature leadership and managerial experience.
• A positive personality that protects, teaches, and inspires people to do their best possible work.
• An extensive understanding of modern game design, production, and development best practices.
• Passion for personally crafting and implementing high-quality designs and processes, with a willingness to wear different hats as necessary to ensure team success.
• Experience with and willingness to work in modern game development tools.

BONUS QUALIFICATIONS:

• You are comfortable working with Marketing and PR to be a public spokesperson for design and will collaborate on creating high-quality assets in support of the game, as necessary.
• Experience communicating with the publishers, press, and other relevant parties, championing the team and the project.
• Experience managing remote teams, while working with "in-house" and outsourcing partners to drive results.
• Extensive experience working in Unreal Engine with Blueprint visual scripting, or equivalent 3D game engine and scripting language(s).
• Practical experience working on any of the following: character action games, challenging combat systems, enemy encounter & AI, and/or diverse RPG systems.

About ProbablyMonsters™

ProbablyMonsters is a AAA independent video game company that aims to change the way games are made. We unite a diverse roster of development teams in a healthy, rewarding culture. We believe empowered creators build the most engaging games and deliver the best player experiences.

ProbablyMonsters is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Benefits:

• We provide a rich benefits package:
• Medical Coverage - health, dental, and vision paid at 100% for the employee and dependents are subsidized by the Company.
• Healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance.
• 401(k) with an annual contribution by the Company.
• Paid holidays and vacation, bereavement leaves, and parental leave.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part-time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.

Compensation:

• This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, exempt (salaried) position.
• The full salary range for this position is $197,000 - $305,600 per year. The upper third of the salary range is typically reserved for existing employees who demonstrate strong performance over time. When an offer is made, many factors are considered, such as your unique experience and skills, where you live, where the work will be performed, what similar jobs pay and internal equity.
• In addition to base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for additional incentives, such as short- and long-term incentives. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed.