[Hiring] Game Design Consultant @Macmillan

Role Description

This is a contractor opportunity and does not constitute an offer of employment with Macmillan Learning.

We're expanding our interactive learning capabilities and looking for a Senior Game Design Consultant to bring dedicated game design expertise across a range of projects, from scenario-driven simulations to lightweight mini-games and interactives. You'll partner with a multidisciplinary group of product designers, researchers, product managers, software engineers, and content creators, contributing fresh game design thinking to how our learners and instructors experience our digital products.

Reporting to the Director of Product Design, your work will directly shape the interactive experiences that bring our learning content to life.

Scope of Services

• Architect core loops, progression models, and level layouts for scenario-driven learning simulations.
• Develop visual storyboards mapping narrative arcs, character contexts, and branching player choices.
• Design lightweight mini-games and interactive widgets that complement digital course materials.
• Break simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support templatized scenario development.
• Collaborate with product designers, researchers, product managers, engineers, and content creators to align interactive concepts with learning goals.
• Coordinate with engineers to ensure game mechanics translate cleanly into production builds.
• Use AI tools to prototype assets and test game feel during the design process.

Expected Deliverables and Outcomes

• Simulation Design Specifications: Documentation of core loops, progression models, and level layouts for scenario-driven simulations, structured for reuse across scenarios, industries, or difficulty tiers.
• Storyboards and Narrative Maps: Visual storyboards covering narrative arcs, character contexts, and branching player-choice paths, delivered in a format ready for team review and engineering handoff.
• Mini-Game and Interactive Prototypes: Playable prototypes of lightweight mini-games or interactive widgets for stakeholder review.
• Engineering Handoff Documentation: Mechanics specifications prepared for the engineering team, aligned with the relevant engine or framework.

Experience and Capabilities

Required Capabilities

• Demonstrated game design craft, with a portfolio showing strong mechanics, systems design, and player feedback loops.
• Skilled at breaking simulations into reusable components, variables, and rule sets to support scenario templatization.
• Strong visual storytelling and storyboarding ability, translating complex ideas into narrative arcs and branching paths.
• Comfortable moving between high-level mechanics design, hands-on grayboxing, and narrative framing as an independent contributor.

Preferred Capabilities

• Engine or framework literacy (e.g., Unity, Phaser, PixiJS, WebGL) sufficient to hand off specs to an engineering team.
• Experience using AI generation tools to accelerate design workflows.
• Background in EdTech or education-focused product work.
• Interest in turning abstract concepts into satisfying, rewarding gameplay loops.

Engagement Parameters

• Engagement type: Contractor
• Duration: Estimated 6 month engagement
• Time commitment: 40 hours/week
• Location: Remote, US-based
• Compensation: $70-$90/hour