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Lead Level Designer
1 year ago
Join Romero Games as we develop John Romero’s next First Person Shooter in partnership with a major publisher! This is an unprecedented opportunity to join a thriving independent development studio and work on a high-profile title that will be played by millions of gamers worldwide.
Romero Games is looking for a Lead Level Designer to join our growing team on a full-time basis. You will be responsible for the level design of the entire FPS, leading your team in a cohesive world design that supports the narrative and special features of the game design. You will work with the Game Director to own the vision for the levels, defining quality targets and ensuring your team is equipped to build epic, memorable, and stunning maps.
This position is open to remote work for the right candidate.
Responsibilities
- Guiding the team in crafting unique spaces where gameplay flow and visual composition form memorable experiences.
- Define the entire level design pipeline for this specific game taking into account its unique design.
- Be the point person for level design with other team members to make sure the levels created contribute to enhancing the gameplay, the game narrative and are aligned with the art vision and technicality.
- Participate in building exemplary content to help the project grow and provide examples for level designers to learn from.
- Contribute to the creation and constant improvement of pipelines and processes.
- Manage the level designers in the priority of their tasks and their deliverables
- Provide critical feedback on your level design team’s individual performance to help them succeed in their craft and career.
Skills and Requirements
- A deep understanding of all aspects of level design with mastery in many areas including; visual language, architectural composition, sign-posting, combat and encounter design, flow, game balance, delivery / support of game mechanics, on-boarding, difficulty tuning and pacing.
- Extensive experience working in a senior/lead position and 2 shipped AAA recent gen (PS4 / XBOX ONE) console or PC titles that featured a multiplayer component, that you worked on from beginning to launch
- Extreme attention to detail
- The ability to work collaboratively with other disciplines and you have experience being a key part of a leadership group
- The ability to work independently without close supervision
- Experience in creating first or third person shooters
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- A passion for environment design and architectural concepts
- Experience building levels using 3D level editing tools (Unreal 4, UnrealEd, Hammer, Radiant, etc.)
- Experience prototyping maps and gameplay mechanics using Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar
- Experience writing high quality and thorough design documentation including diagram and flow-chart creation
- Experience with source-control applications (SVN, Perforce, GIT, etc.)
- Experience in multiplayer level design
- Strong problem-solving skills including lateral thinking
- Presentation skills and experience with PowerPoint or Keynote
- Knowledge of gameplay event scripting and entity setup
- Experience with UnrealEd/UDK and Kismet
- Experience with Confluence and Jira
Preferences
- Unreal 4/5 Blueprints, Flow Graph, or other visual scripting software
- Experience with Adobe Photoshop or similar
- Experience with scripting or programming language
- Undergraduate degree in Video Game Design, Computer Science, Marketing, Entertainment or a form of technical training
- Experience of being the flag-bearer / champion for a product including giving presentations to press and at conferences / events
- Experience running the live phase of a game as a service, including using telemetry / metrics to inform design and content decisions
Romero Games Benefits
Ownership. Everyone in the company benefits from ownership in the company. Every full-time Romero Games employee is given a stake.
Vacation: Time off for vacation. Four weeks vacation per year + 10 national holidays.
Hybrid Working. Flexible working hours, including work-from-home and remote work.
Bonus Weeks: Bonus week off in your 5th year and 10th year.
Sabbaticals: At 5+ years, should you choose to take unpaid time for a personal project, we will cover 20% of your pay provided that it is in your area of interest.
Premium Health. Premium health benefits, plus extended healthcare coverage.
Fertility Leave: For employees undergoing IVF treatment, surrogacy or other forms of fertility treatment, two days per cycle for recovery or travel.
Relocation assistance. Flexible start dates, relocation reimbursement and assistance in finding housing.
Life-Friendly Policies: We understand that work is one of the things that you do and that life happens. We have a long and consistent pattern of life-friendly management, whether taking your kids to creche, assisting your parents with an appointment, or taking your pet to the vet.
Compassionate Leave / Bereavement. We support employees by offering paid time off during bereavement for immediate family. This includes loss of pregnancy, including the loss of surrogate pregnancy.
Parental Leave and Support. Family-focused benefits include paid maternity and paternity leave and flexible work hours. Most people here are parents. We get it.
Social Events. Regular social events such as pub nights (including online pub nights), holiday parties, barbecues and conferences, with accommodation and travel covered by us.
Expert Speakers. Monthly insider expert seminars with renowned creators such as John Carmack, Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider), Warren Spector (Deus Ex), David Brevik (Diablo), Harvey Smith (Dishonored), Josh Sawyer (Pillars of Eternity), and more.
Bike to Work Programme: Within Ireland, using the Bike-to-Work government initiative, employees obtain a brand new bike and safety equipment worth up to €1,250 for a regular bike, and up to €1,500 for an electric bike. The scheme covers your new bike and gear, saving 52% of the retail price of bike and equipment. https://www.biketowork.ie/
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