Senior Game Designer

Who we are

Uppercut Games is a rapidly expanding Canberra-based video game development studio founded by industry veterans best known for their work on the Bioshock series. Over the past decade we’ve developed a strong track record of releasing original, experimental, and immersive games for a global audience, including the Submerged series, Epoch and City of Brass. 

We are:

• An inclusive and progressive employer, dedicated to healthy work/life balance and flexible work.
• An open and energetic team with a shared passion for video games and creative enterprise.
• Developing a highly ambitious and exciting new project which will require a significant amount of growth as we return to our AAA roots.

Who we need

We are looking for a Senior Game Designer to join our awesome design team as we embark on an exciting new project.

Our ideal candidate for this role will have had significant previous experience with gameplay or level design, preferably for PC/console titles, and have a knack for translating innovative ideas into compelling gameplay moments. 

In addition, this role will have a strong focus on mentorship of junior designers and ownership of critical gameplay systems, so we’re especially keen to speak with candidates who have experience in this area, and who feel confident in owning whole features and leading multi-disciplinary strike teams.  

Please note this is not an entry level position, and there is a significant opportunity for this role to progress into a lead-level position for the right candidate.

This role can be based either remotely within Australia/New Zealand time zones, or onsite in our studio in Canberra, ACT. Relocation assistance is available.

What you’ll do

As a Senior Game Designer at Uppercut Games, we’ll be asking you to: 

 Take ownership of critical gameplay systems and features, from initial design right through to implementation and tuning.

• Lead Feature and Strike teams, and coordinate directly with other feature teams and Subject Matter Experts during feature development.
• Mentor and supervise other design staff, identify training and upskilling opportunities and champion good design practices across the design team.
• Create and maintain clear, unambiguous design documentation for implementation across disciplines and teams, and iterate on material over time.
• Work directly with studio leadership to help form the overall direction for game systems, and ensure that designs follow the product vision.
• Collaborate with the production team on schedules, milestones and other key deliverables. 
• Support the development of user experience / focus testing best practises, and directly assist with such sessions.
• Use metrics to analyse and improve gameplay systems and the player experience.
• Provide constructive feedback and contribute to the overall design of the game.
• Bring your extensive experience translating original ideas into practice to create features that stretch the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and challenge the expectations of players.

What you should have

• Demonstrated experience designing compelling gameplay features and player friendly systems, or immersive game levels, ideally across multiple PC/console titles.
• Previous involvement with mentoring junior designers and supporting their ongoing upskilling, development and career progression.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - you can articulate complex design concepts in a clear and unambiguous way.
• Strong documentation skills.
• Exceptional knowledge of game design theory.
• Experience with user testing, metric development and player experience analysis.
• Strong awareness of player profiles and motivations, and the ability to match those with game mechanics and systems.
• The right to work in Australia or New Zealand. 

Bonus points:

• Experience with Unreal Engine.
• Previous experience with first person combat games.
• Solid understanding of production/project management and work scheduling.

Uppercut Games is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage and welcome all applicants regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.