Senior Gameplay Designer

Job Description

We’re looking for a designer-programmer hybrid to help us create gameplay prototypes that feel intimate and weirdly alive. Like a grub crawling on a hand, a starfish waving its arms, or a lizard emerging from its shell filtered through an aesthetic that includes classic fairytales, Jim Henson, and Junji Ito.

This is a highly creative, hands-on role for someone who’s already been building their own games, experimenting with mechanics, and chasing unusual ideas. You’ll be joining a small, senior team (currently 4 people) where you’ll be a core contributor to exploring and shaping the direction and feel of the game.

What you’ll do here

Gameplay Prototyping

• Brainstorm new interactions between humans and animals
• Build rapid 3D gameplay prototypes in Unreal
• Act as the team’s champion for game feel — tuning movement controls, physics, and animal responses to feel more tactile, expressive, and alive

Creative Leadership

• Collaborate with programmers, animators, and artists to push prototypes toward shipping experiences
• Create art briefs and give feedback to help ensure visuals and gameplay reinforce each other
• Participate actively in playtests and lead iteration discussions

What We’re Looking For

Core Experience

• 5+ years of professional game development experience
• Strong ability to build gameplay prototypes (C++ experience preferred, or strong C# background with willingness to learn C++)
• Proven experience creating expressive, “juicy” gameplay interactions
• Experience designing 3D gameplay spaces

Creative FitWe’re especially excited about candidates who:

• Have built non-standard gameplay systems — something beyond familiar combat or genre mechanics
• Have an experimental mindset and are comfortable working in early, messy prototype phases
• See games as holistic experiences and appreciate that creating the perfect moment can require implausible amounts of inter-disciplinary collaboration to make everything behave just so

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with Unreal Engine and Blueprint scripting
• Familiarity with Blender or Maya
• An interest in science, biology, or natural systems
• Personal game projects, experimental prototypes, or indie releases

This is a fulltime role with benefits that include healthcare and a 401k. Our team is fully remote. If you’re outside of US timezones we ask that your day includes at least 4 hours of overlap with the team between 9am – 6pm, PT.