Studio Overview

We are Sports Interactive 🎮

The gaming studio behind: ⚽ Football Manager.

Founded in 1994, Sports Interactive became a wholly owned subsidiary of SEGA Europe in 2006. Based at the Here East technology hub in Stratford, East London, the SI team continues to expand as we bring our titles to an ever-growing audience across an increasing variety of platforms.

To support our growth, we welcome the opportunity to connect with passionate people with the drive to match our ambitions and initiative to realise your individual potential.

Position Overview

Sports Interactive are looking for a talented Game Designer (Games Modes & Online Services) to join the studio and work on the Football Manager franchise, as part of our Game Modes team.

You will be responsible for creating and guiding the latest feature designs for Football Manager projects, with a focus on existing and potential new game modes. Typical activities will include designing features, systems, content and interfaces; informed by data and our Community team.

You will join an ambitious and passionate team who care deeply about delivering an outstanding Football Manager experience for our players.

The ideal candidate will be a dynamic, self-motivated, and creative individual with a drive to connect with the community of players through engaging proposals and content. Great communication skills, solid design methodology and the ability to champion ideas from inception to live delivery at pace within a cross-disciplinary team.

Key Responsibilities

Design engaging features and content to support existing and potential new game modes
Champion design quality across all game modes, including multiplayer, challenges, leaderboards and social systems
Collaborate closely with UI/UX, Narrative designers and the Community team on feature proposals and definition
Document features and systems through detailed and rigorous technical specifications to guide implementation from engineering teams
Present design proposals to stakeholders across Game Modes team, Game Design and Game Direction, considering feedback from colleagues
Report on progress to the production team and Lead Game Designer
Propose key ideas and game improvements to production and design leads to help build a high-quality live roadmap, considering community feedback
Champion the quality of the game through prototyping, playtesting and game reviews with cross-disciplinary teams
Monitor player experience, engagement and retention through gameplay data
Implement content, tune data and help balance systems directly in Unity when appropriate
Support the QA department to write detailed test plans for features

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Systems-driven game designer with an appreciation for depth, replayability and simulation-heavy topics
Strong understanding of online service principles, including retention loops, content cadence, and player lifecycle management
Experience looking at engagement data and translating insights into actionable update plans
Autonomous and dynamic, able to be a champion for gameplay quality in a dispersed team
Strong written and verbal communication skills for effective collaboration with UX/UI designers, software engineers, QA, artists, animators and producers
Passionate about both football and video game development
Familiar with Game and UX design best practices
Strong attention to detail and a methodical approach to design
Good knowledge of Football Manager
Experience working with modern game development tools and engines such as Unity or similar
Proficient with Excel and/or0 other systems-driven tools
Experience contributing to finished high-quality projects in the simulation or management genre (no matter the scale), and/or projects related to football
Computer science, game design or other relevant educational background would be beneficial

Benefits of Working at Sports Interactive:

Private Healthcare and Dental Cover.
Contributory Pension Scheme (employer contributions up to 7% of annual salary).
Eligibility to participate in the company’s discretionary bonus scheme.
Access to life assurance and income protection Cover.
Access to Travel Insurance for yourself and your family.
Confidential mental health, therapy and coaching support with subsidised access.
Flexible gym and fitness options via our benefits platform.
Access to on-site physiotherapy and massage services.
Free onsite evening bar in the Sports Interactive London HQ.
A well-stocked breakfast bar with cereals, fruit, tea and coffee.
Free access to games released under the SEGA Europe umbrella.
Regular events and experiences in collaboration with our partnered football clubs.
Multiple clubs and societies to join (including book club, art workshops and more).
Personalised football shirt upon passing probation.
Trophies & gift cards for length of service milestones.
Cupcakes sent to you on your birthday.

What is it like to work here?

We approach everything with passion, whether that is making our mark on the gaming and football industries or doing our bit for the world around us. We want to share that outlook with everyone who shows up to work here each day.

For us, talent wins games, but teamwork wins titles. Collaboration is the key to constantly topping our best. We believe everyone matters, no matter which part of the business you are in, so we encourage and support our people in driving your own growth and realising your full potential. But, more than anything else, we are a team. A team with a down-to-earth dynamic, that has a lot of fun doing what we do.

And whether that’s technical tweaks or fine-tuning our creative process, everything is geared at producing the best game possible for our players. To do that, we need to be tenacious and move quickly and not be afraid of switching things up. It is these principles that have enabled us to produce a game that has defined year after year, and that will continue to push us for many more to come.

We’re also a London Living Wage employer, boast one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry and are proud to have won the ‘Best Places to Work’ award by Gamesindustry.biz in large company category in 2023.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from any relevant candidate irrespective of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief.

SI is proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer, and we are dedicated to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. Our studio has disabled access and facilities but please ensure you advise us if you require any other reasonable adjustments to be made to support you during the recruitment process.

Our Values:

Keep collaborating: Teamwork wins titles - Here, ideas belong to everyone, whatever department you’re part of. Collaboration lets us score more as a team than we could individually.
Be flexible: We think fast and adapt faster. The football and entertainment worlds never stand still, so we keep progressing and switching things up to stay ahead.
Stay Tenacious: We don’t overlook the details. Everything we do is about producing the best game possible, in other words, never settle.
Show Ambition: Let your drive lead the way - Your individual outlook can give everyone the edge. Make the studio’s purpose personal and let your drive lead the way.
Bring the Passion: Have fun doing your thing - Don’t be fooled, what we do is not a game. Making our players’ passion come to life is our passion.
Consider the Bigger Picture: Keep things in perspective - We want our impact to be a positive one. From built-in work/life balance to initiatives covering the most important topics of today, we have what matters in focus.