Lightfox Games is seeking a talented and enthusiastic Senior Combat Designer to join our Seattle, Washington based team to work on an unannounced mobile game for a world-class IP and Publisher. This role is hybrid out of our downtown Seattle office, with approximately 50% of time expected in-person.

Responsibilities

Work with the Combat Lead and Combat Team to develop and iterate on player abilities, enemy behavior, encounter structure, and player feedback loops
Collaborate closely with Engineering, Level Design, and Art to bring combat from prototype to polished, shippable state
Define and iterate on the combat feel, tuning timing, pacing, responsiveness, and difficulty curves to deliver satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay
Build and maintain combat design documentation, standards, and best practices that scale with the team
Playtest and analyze combat extensively, using both qualitative feedback and player data to drive iteration
Partner with Systems Design to ensure combat integrates cohesively with progression, economy, and live ops frameworks

Requirements

5+ years of professional game development experience, including senior-level ownership of combat design on at least one shipped title
Strong portfolio or shipped work demonstrating deep combat design craft: ability, encounter, and enemy design with clear design intent
Hands-on experience implementing and iterating on combat directly in a game engine, ideally Unity
Deep understanding of combat feel, player psychology, difficulty tuning, and how combat systems support broader game design goals
Strong communication and collaboration skills, comfortable working cross-functionally in small, fast-moving teams
Self-motivated and comfortable with ownership in an ambiguous, early-stage environment

Nice to have

Experience designing combat for mobile free-to-play games
Experience with ARPG combat systems, including ability design, cooldown structures, and build diversity
Experience designing combat for isometric, top-down, or strategy game camera perspectives
Experience working within an established IP or licensed property
Experience leveraging AI tools to accelerate combat prototyping, tuning, or documentation workflows

Compensation

US$120,000 – US$145,000 depending on experience, plus health/vision/dental coverage, 401(k) matching, commuting benefits, and equity.