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Lead Narrative Systems Designer (Star Wars FPS)

Founded in 2010 by the original creators of the Call of Duty Franchise, Respawn was created with the philosophy that when talented people have creative freedom, they’ll make extraordinary games that achieve the unexpected. From our roots as an indie studio to joining the expansive roster of studios at Electronic Arts, this remains our guiding principle. We truly love what we do and want to share our passion with players worldwide.

Our shipped titles include critically acclaimed multi-platform games Apex Legends, Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Star Wars™ Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars™ Jedi: Survivor, and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.

In collaboration with Lucasfilm, the Star Wars FPS Team at Respawn is developing a new AAA FPS set in the Star Wars galaxy. Inspired by classic titles like Dark Forces and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, our story-driven single player game is being developed from the ground up leveraging the power of Unreal Engine 5. We’re combining this inspiration and technology with Respawn’s pedigree for making best-in-class shooters to deliver a brand new experience our players will love.

We're looking for an experienced and collaborative Lead Narrative Systems Designer to take point on a team dedicated to player immersion in a vibrant world. In this role, you will be an important part of our multidisciplinary collaboration bringing story, moments, and characters to life in a new Star Wars FPS.

This role requires an individual with a strong desire to work in a collaborative environment where feedback from all corners is encouraged. Our ideal candidate will have a great mix of technical mindset, design sensibilities, interpersonal skills, and player empathy.

What you’ll do…

• Reporting to the Systems Design Director, you will be responsible for managing and leading a team of Narrative Designers as you develop and maintain the tools, techniques, and collaboration needed for a cutting-edge story-driven FPS.
• Work closely with the Writers, Mission & Combat teams, Engineers, Animators, Artists, Audio, and others to help bring our story and character to life.
• Develop pipelines and management practices for integration & iteration of Narrative content with Mission Design, Audio, Combat, and more.
• Lead the development of narrative systems that facilitate player expression, storytelling, and the performances of combat & non-combat NPCs.
• Drive the design and architecting of technical systems that support delivering compelling, engaging, and immersive game experiences.
• Explore and adapt new ways to bring characters and moments to life with a practical approach that blends seamlessly with gameplay.
• Have an eye for performance issues, bugs, and content polish needed to achieve the best quality possible.
• Predict dependencies and production requirements.

Ideally, you will also have…

• 5+ years of experience in Narrative Design, with 2+ years leading a team of Designers.
• Fluency in one or more scripting or programming languages.
• Experience developing in AAA game engines, with Unreal as a plus.
• A sense of architecting systems for extensibility, flexibility, performance, and iteration throughout development.
• A passion and understanding of industry trends and technologies.
• Shipped at least one AAA game as a core member of the Narrative team.

If this opportunity sounds like a great fit for you, please submit your resume and portfolio and we will get back to you once we have reviewed it.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The base salary ranges listed below are for the defined geographic market pay zones in these locations. If you reside outside of these locations, a recruiter will advise on the range and benefits for your specific location.

EA has listed the base salary ranges it in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in the locations listed, as of the time of this posting. Pay offered will be determined based on numerous relevant business and candidate factors including, for example, education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, and business or organizational needs.

BASE SALARY RANGES

• California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento):
º $131,600 - $213,300 USD Annually
• New York (depending on location e.g. Manhattan vs. Buffalo):
º $131,600 - $213,300 USD Annually
• Jersey City, NJ :
º $154,800 - $213,300 USD Annually
• Colorado (depending on location e.g. Denver vs. Colorado Springs):
º $131,600 - $179,600 USD Annually
• Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane):
º $131,600 - $195,200 USD Annually
• British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria):
º $114,050 - $171,750 CAN Annually

Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity. For British Columbia, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.