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Lead Designer - Lively, UK

At Lively, we pride ourselves on making games full of character. The world is fun and silly and sad and infuriating and banal and beautiful and ugly, and all of those things have a place in our games. Across the Electric Square group, our 4 studios, many projects, 230 people (and studio dogs (and cats)) we offer you a comfortable and comforting studio culture that we hope can make you feel empowered and inspired.

Lively hunger for difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Electric Square is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. We provide a comprehensive benefits package and an award-winning environment to work in, rating 4.8 out of 5 stars for employee satisfaction on glassdoor.com! And we are not idle - we always strive to do better by our employees.

We are currently looking for a delightful Lead Designer to join our Leamington-based team - but we are fully supportive of remote working and happy to enable whatever blend of home and office best empowers you and your work.

What Does a Lead Designer Do at Lively?

We are looking for someone to own and take responsibility for delivering the gameplay experience that defines our games here at Lively. As lead, you will need the people skills to give your team the chance to shine and the design experience to ensure our games come alive in the hearts and minds of our players, while working closely with other disciplines to make sure creative dreams can become practical reality. We are firm believers that people should be the most them they can be, and we want to find someone we can genuinely give opportunities to grow and excel.

• Takes overall responsibility for the quality of game design on a title.
• Empowers, mentors and coaches the design team to be the best them they can be.
• Ensures smooth, clear communication within the design team and with other disciplines.
• Responds to and implements feedback from data analysis, reviews and playtests.
• Works with the Game Director and whole team to ensure the game is delivering the correct experience for the audience and commercial intentions of the game.
• In the most wholesome way imaginable, loves what they do, and we can tell. (This isn’t a codeword for crunch. The day is over. Go home. So to speak...)

Requirements

Things we'd love to see from you:

• Appreciable applicable experience, some of which is in a similar position. This is a vital role and while we want you to grow and thrive, we do need confidence that we are in safe hands.
• Passionate, curious, motivated and open to giving and receiving constructive feedback.
• Has a fascinatingly broad palette of references and inspirations to draw from and educate us with.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Able to work well as a team player in a collaborative environment.
• A love of creating unforgettable, utterly loveable gaming experiences for the audience!

If you are wondering if you should apply or not, we sincerely hope that you do! You may wish to read that sentence again. Good luck!

Benefits

When you join Electric Square, you can expect to enjoy a unique culture. Whether it’s participating and relaxing with one of our wellness benefits or discussing the latest games over lunch cooked at one of Leamington Spa’s incredible eateries. The Studio knows that it’s the best people that make the best games and this is what Electric Square invests in. Below you will find all the benefits and perks you can enjoy as an Electric Square team member.

• Holidays - 25 days’ annual leave entitlement including studio closure over the Christmas period plus all UK bank holidays
• Bonus Anniversary Holidays - An additional day of annual leave for each year’s anniversary working at Electric Square, up to a maximum of 30 days of annual leave entitlement.
• Generous Team Project Bonuses
• Company Pension Scheme – Employer contribution matching award winning pension scheme provided by NEST under the UK governments automatic enrolment scheme.
• Private Medical Insurance Scheme – Full private medical cover provided by BUPA Private Healthcare.
• Group Income Protection
• Health and Well-being Allowance – £50 per month to spend on your choice of a range of healthy activities, ranging from going to the gym, rock climbing, yoga and a lovely massage. It's on us!
• Group Life Insurance
• Private Dental Insurance Scheme – Full private dental cover provided under our Bupa Dental scheme.
• Cycle to Work Scheme – Salary sacrifice cycle purchase scheme with tax savings through Cycle Scheme.
• Tech Scheme - Over 5000 products available from to buy over 12 or 24 month payment terms, saving up to 12% on National Insurance.
• Electra's Beer & Wine Fridge – Free beers, ales and wine and even the odd gin and tonic! Grab a beer at our end of week Show and Tell sessions and see what everybody else in the company has been up to!
• Free soft drinks to keep you refreshed throughout the day. Remember your sugar intake, though, folks!
• Free Electric Square Monthly Friday Team Lunch – Monthly Friday lunches have become a way of life here at ES. It’s a wonderful way to sit and enjoy a bit of food and drink together as a team outside of the day to day at the studio.
• Eye-care Vouchers – Free eye tests.
• Train Travel Season Ticket Loan – Interest free company loan to spread the cost of an annual season ticket.
• Personal Trainer Sessions – Free gym sessions with our own Electric Square personal trainer.
• Fast Growing Studio – We're only getting bigger, so there's plenty of room for career advancement.
• Industry Conferences Budget – Many of our employees benefit every year from attending conferences such as GDC in San Francisco, Siggraph, E3, Unite, Unreal Fest Europe and more.
• Free locally roasted Coffee & Speciality Teas
• Free Cereal Bar – Extensive granola, muesli and breakfast cereal selections.
• Extensive Video Game & Book Library – Borrow a game, a book or even a whole console!
• Free Awesome Swag – Amazingly designed Electric Square T-shirts and merch, with the now iconic Electra emblazoned on the front. New ranges out every season.
• Dogs with Jobs – Electric Square is a dog friendly employer. Bring doggo into the studio to meet and hang out with the rest of the team any time!
• Exhibitions & Days Out – If there is an event happening of interest to us, we’ll happily spread the word, pick up the bill and see if any Electrons are up for going – we’re keen to get you everyone out seeing what’s going on.
• Project Wrap Parties, Cinema Nights & Team Social Events – We work hard together so it’s good to let off steam and spend some time together.