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Lead Designer

As Lead Designer you’ll work directly with the Studio Director to develop, refine and present the top-level vision on our original pitches. You’ll also be an extraordinarily strong and concise feature designer with the ability to focus right down to low-level detail, capable of generating highly effective documentation that powers development across the studio.

You’ll be expected to build, manage, develop and mentor your design team, providing clear guidance and support while remaining directly hands-on where needed.

Your relationship with the other leads in the studio will also be critical, ensuring that the design department works collaboratively across disciplines to protect and champion design while understanding the wider implications and demands on the studio.

Your intuition, personality, skill sets and experience that will be guiding our projects from conception to release and beyond — and those projects in turn are what will shape our identity and success as a company!

• Lead the creation of full game design documentation for assigned projects
• Lead analogue and digital prototyping sessions during pre-production to prove out initial vision
• Identify and prioritise required feature specifications, set the standard for these specs, and review and sign off on all specifications from junior team members
• Manage regular internal testing sessions on projects, both within the team and across the wider studio, and using this data to influence future design decisions
• Create and approve high level overviews of new designs and concepts to quickly convey ideas both internally AND externally
• Work closely with Production, Engineering and Art Leads to make project critical decisions that ensure game quality is maintained without jeopardising the delivery of game milestones
• Attend regular publisher calls/meetings as the key representative for the design on your project. You will be comfortable managing publisher feedback with exemplary communication skills
• Hold the creative vision for your project, signing off on all features when they are implemented to your satisfaction
• Report on game progress regularly and articulately to internal stakeholders (directors), calling out areas of success and concern far enough in advance that strategic solutions can be found
• Produce original new concepts and respond to publisher RFPs as and when dictated by Studio/Creative Director
• Assist in maintaining a project backlog during production and into live-operations where applicable, agreeing priorities with product and publishers in regular stakeholder settings
• Support the junior designers on your team, managing their responsibilities to ensure they are able to develop essential skills, teaching both by face-to-face mentoring and ensuring your work is exemplary

We are a pitch-orientated studio with both work-for-hire and original concepts in active development.

We’re engaged in both free-to-play and premium titles, so while we don’t expect perfect expertise across both, a proven and impressive track record in at least one of the areas is essential, with at least a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the other also a requirement.

In addition we would expect to see:

• 5+ years game design experience within a studio environment as a minimum
• Exceptional understanding of game structure and systems
• Exceptional ability to produce clear and workable documentation
• Wide knowledge base of past and present games, across all genres
• Able to communicate your ideas clearly, concisely and efficiently
• Adaptable and able to quickly pick-up new skills and ways of working
• Comfortable working closely with others and looking after creative teams

Fortitude is a new studio based in Guildford, UK, dedicated to building innovative and creative games. Our team includes multi-BAFTA nominated talent and we have a close and highly-developed working relationship with parent company Mediatonic and their extensive network and support.

We are looking for highly-motivated and talented individuals with the passion and skills to deliver premium-quality games from day one, while growing as part of a small team working with original properties and highly-acclaimed IPs to create a world-class games studio.

The Lead Designer role is one of our most critical and significant hires. It offers the opportunity to have an enormous impact on shaping our ambitious and creative studio, while working with our small but highly talented team to meet the challenges — and experience the rewards — that come along with it.

We look forward to your application!