As a Game Designer, you design, tweak, and optimize the player experience. You will use your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity to help craft in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world.
As Lead Combat Designer in R&D, you’ll own the delivery of a compelling combat vision that you share and develop with the team. You manage a small team of combat designers to iterate on the game’s core combat fundamentals and to build a large volume of player and enemy content on top of. You excel in the systems and components of compelling player combat and enemies.. You are comfortable operating in an ambiguous environment where the team owns its own goals, and where change, big and small, is a critical part of the process. You will report to the Game Director on the team.
Responsibilities:
Manage a small design team that works on combat mechanics, including character abilities, movement, camera
In collaboration with other discipline leaders, build a direction and roadmap for the game’s combat that delivers high quality results and builds progress in an efficient and organized manner
Empower and inspire all members of the team to continue striving for their best possible work in a healthy and sustainable way
Mentor and grow designers on the team in both craft and collaboration skills
Ensure an effective playtesting process that can validate our goals and fuel continuous improvement over time
Guide iteration on core player actions like Camera, Controls, and Character
Lead the design effort to achieve top-tier game feel
Create clear design documentation that can be evaluated and implemented by non-designers
Help guide the project from pre-production through launch and ongoing live support
Required Qualifications:
7+ years of experience in professional Game Design
4+ years of experience in either Combat Mechanics, Enemies, or Combat Feel in real time games
People management experience; experience with mentorship of other designers leading to a promotion or substantial positive improvements in their work
Experience communicating and expressing complex and nuanced designs in simple ways
Shipped or worked on at least one AAA+ game
Experience designing enemy systems that interact with player combat to create varied and satisfying encounters
Desired Qualifications:
Experience working in the pre-production phase of development on at least one game
Experience across a variety of platforms like PC and mobile
Experience working in Unreal Engine
Experience Iterating on combat in a live service environment with balance, improvements, and new content
For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is the role for you!
Our Perks:
Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.
Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.
(Los Angeles Only) Base salary range between $191,600.00 - $267,800.00 USD + incentive compensation + equity + 401K with company match + medical, dental, vision, and life insurance + short and long-term disability + open PTO.
