This job might no longer be available.

Lead Game Designer

We build ground-breaking games and content for some of the world’s biggest publishers including Microsoft, Sony, Apple and Sega. Sheffield is our largest studio and headquarters, situated just north-east of the city centre, where we’ve built and contributed to some of the world’s best-loved game franchises.

It’s an exciting time to be part of Sumo, winners of the Develop: Star Awards 2019 Best Studio and GI Biz 2020 Best Places to Work; big things are on the horizon and we want you to be part of our continued journey. Join us!

Sumo Sheffield is made up of a diverse mix of fantastic people, although sometimes, some groups are still under-represented. We are working to remove obstacles that can make it difficult for those groups to progress their careers in the games industry. We welcome applications from under-represented people in the gaming industry, including, but not limited to BAME, LGBQT+, women, people with physical disabilities, neurodiversity or mental health issues, and parents or carers.

We are looking for a Lead Game Designer to help us deliver an exciting new game. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a pivotal role in developing a game from the ground up and to build a team that can deliver it at the required standard.

As Lead Game Designer you are responsible for the output and development of the game design team. You will create, maintain and evangelise best practices from a game design perspective. In this role, you will be expected to champion quality across the project and collaborate with all teams in the delivery of an exciting new game.

In your new role you will:

• Define the game vision and gameplay experience in collaboration with the design director
• Oversee the creation and implementation of innovative game systems and content
• Supervise the creation and maintenance of detailed game system documentation
• Review, tweak and balance gameplay to deliver a quality experience
• Define and allocate tasks to the design team, including accurately assessing the time required to complete each task
• Troubleshoot design issues from a creative standpoint
• Manage the output and development of a team of game designers

To be successful you will:

• 5 plus years experience, and 2 or more shipped titles on current gen consoles or PC
• Game design experience on a platform or family game at senior level or above
• A proven ability to breakdown high-level design goals into individual components
• A proven ability to present ideas to a wide variety of audiences, both technical and non-technical in a succinct manner
• An excellent understanding of past and current game trends; particularly in the open-world and action genres
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Inspirational leadership skills

We offer a super benefits package including generous holidays and flexible working hours. Further perks include our legendary annual Sumo Big Day Out, plus epic Christmas parties, money on your birthday, on site free gym and free fruit for everyone! Our new, regular studio Game Jams are a highlight - staff spend a full day developing and pitching their own game ideas for possible development by Sumo.

Our environment is relaxed, friendly and built upon the basis of every team member having the opportunity to shine and have a realisable input into the games we create. We are a very happy ship with lots of incredibly nice people that partake in shared interest groups, lunchtime clubs, charity fundraising events and lots of socialising.

We are proud to be located in Sheffield, just off J34 of the M1 offering easy road and rail access from Leeds, Manchester and the Midlands. Sheffield itself enjoys wealth of facilities including world class sporting facilities, stunning theatres and galleries, the National Video Game Museum, shopping, restaurants and incredible parks and green spaces - all on the doorstep of the beautiful Peak District National Park. We love it here.