Our Mission
Ubisoft is committed to enriching players’ lives with original and memorable gaming experiences. We create worlds where people can express themselves, explore, and discover new possibilities.
Ubisoft Toronto was founded in 2010 and has contributed to many award-winning Ubisoft brands including: Assassin’s Creed®, Far Cry®, For HonorTM, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell®, and Watch Dogs®. In 2018, the team at Ubisoft Toronto developed its first new IP, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and is leading development of Watch Dogs: Legion. Ubisoft Toronto is one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2020.
Are you looking to work with enthusiastic experts who are tackling game-changing challenges in entertainment and beyond? At Ubisoft, we offer an open environment where bright ideas have a chance to shine and everyone is eager to share knowledge.
Challenge accepted? Join us and Create the Unknown.
On being a Game Design Director at Ubisoft Toronto
As a Game Design Director at Ubisoft Toronto, you transform a creative vision into a variety of systems and mechanics that combine to create an engaging experience for players to enjoy. You provide your team with the direction to design their specific gameplay features and allow them the flexibility to experiment and iterate.
While your designers focus on their areas of ownership, you pay attention to the larger picture, overseeing how the overall player experience and game systems are coming together: Core game loop, gameplay depth, user experience, progression, pace, balance, and – of course – quality. You ensure that all elements related to design work together cohesively to fit the intended experience and make it fun.
Type of Position: Permanent, full-time.
The daily life of a Game Design Director at Ubisoft Toronto
- Work with the creative director and the dev team to define the game by creating a vision that is innovative, strong, appropriate, fitting with IP, and implementable by the team;
- Develop your game design direction to make a truly fun and engaging experience. Evangelize this direction across the production team;
- Support your game designers in developing their features (e.g. gameplay rules, progression systems, combat systems, weapon attributes, artificial intelligence behaviours, 3Cs, etc.) + provide mentorship and constructive feedback to achieve quality;
- Inspire and collaborate with interdependent teams to align all design, technical, graphic, and narrative elements.
- Review and discuss budgets & timelines with the producer + keep the editorial team up to date on progress and milestones;
- Adapt to technical and production constraints, feedback, and play test results; readjusting your design direction when need be;
- Follow up on features post-launch to improve, add, or remove components; interpreting data to inform decision-making;
- Occasionally travel locally and abroad to present the game, meet with external partners, visit co-dev studios, etc;
- Anticipate technological advancements and stay up to date on market trends to evolve our production processes and define our best practices + share them with our studios;
- Understand and employ user experience design by upholding benchmarks for discoverability, player understanding, cognitive load, and by supporting UX testing.
What it takes to make it
- A college diploma in Game Design or equivalent (undergraduate degree an asset);
- At least 7 years of game design experience or related experience + 3 years of leadership;
- In-depth knowledge of game engines (e.g. Unity or Unreal) & their limitations, Photoshop, and the Office Suite (especially Excel and PowerPoint).
Nice to have
- A highly innovative, empathetic, creative, and collaborative spirit;
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, presentation, problem-solving, organizational, and mentorship skills;
- Critical thinking, curiosity, resourcefulness, and plenty of flexibility;
- Ability to sift through data and come to meaningful conclusions;
- Familiarity with online gaming communities and live streaming platforms (e.g. Twitch);
- A solid understanding of the market & a (fiery) passion for video games.
We Offer:
Comprehensive Benefits Package:
- Disability Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Extended medical insurance
- (Optional) RRSP contribution
- Relocation Assistance
- Bonus (If Applicable)
Why Ubisoft Toronto?
Located in Toronto's up-and-coming Junction Triangle neighbourhood since 2010, Ubisoft Toronto is a studio full of passionate and experienced game developers focused on making innovative and exciting games. With over 35 languages spoken, Ubisoft Toronto is as diverse as the booming city it calls home. At Ubisoft Toronto, we are passionate about positive culture. We host monthly team celebrations, organize events for employees and their families, and we offer a variety of health and wellness initiatives like on-site yoga, on-site occupational therapists, flexible days, and an abundance of fresh fruit to promote a balanced life.
Ubisoft Toronto conducts annual performance reviews to help our team develop their careers and grow with our studio, and we provide the opportunity for salary increases annually as part of the performance review process. Ubisoft Toronto also offers a comprehensive health benefits package, generous RRSP matching, industry education support, training, and career development.
Join us and see for yourself why Ubisoft is rated one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, and one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People multiple years running!
Join Us!
At Ubisoft Toronto, we look for people who are excited to create the future of games in one of the most diverse cities in the world. We believe that embracing our differences helps us build stronger creative teams and develop better games for all players.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and welcome applications from all interested candidates. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous people, racialized people, neurodivergent people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for people with disability upon request.
If this sounds like your kind of studio, what are you waiting for? Apply to join us now!
We thank you for your interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No agencies please.
