[Hiring] Senior Combat Designer @Insomniac Games

Role Description

This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. This is a 6-month contract.

Insomniac Games is looking for a Senior Combat Designer (Enemies/Bosses). In this role, the Senior Combat Designer (Enemies/Bosses) is accountable for the quality and on-time delivery of combat gameplay, specifically focused on enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses. The designer will be responsible for:

• Initial pitches, prototyping, implementation, iteration, polish, and balance for AI enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses.
• Working in a highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary pod under the direction and review of combat and design leads.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Hands-on implementation work on initial design, prototyping, iteration, balance, and polish of AI enemy combatants, mini-boss characters, and large-scale boss encounters.
• Directly implementing and iterating on Enemy AI and bosses through proprietary internal tools and scripting systems.
• Collaborating directly with Gameplay Programming, Animation, and other pod members to leverage skills and creativity across all departments.
• Writing and regularly updating clear gameplay system documentation detailing functionality and best practices for using Enemy AI across missions and levels.
• Gathering and prioritizing feedback from multiple sources, proactively implementing changes and improvements in enemy/boss design.
• Supporting Mission Designers through best practices, training, and model encounters.
• Coordinating with other combat design staff on game-wide combat issues, including difficulty, balance, enemy differentiation, and introductions.
• Contributing to a safe, supportive, and creative work environment that exemplifies studio values.
• Other creative duties as needed.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of professional game design experience, with at least one shipped title as a Combat Designer.
• Expertise in the current state of combat design craft across the games industry.
• Experience in designing, prototyping, implementing, and polishing enemy AI combatants and boss characters.
• High proficiency with modern game engines, such as Unreal or proprietary engines.
• Proven experience in scripting, prototyping, and iterating gameplay systems directly.
• Experience in 3D layout is a plus.
• Strong skills in written, verbal, and visual communication across disciplines.

Requirements

• Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
• Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Intermediate knowledge and experience with level editing tools and scripting (Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar editors).
• Intermediate knowledge of Maya or other major 3D modeling programs.
• Adobe Illustrator experience and UE4 Blueprint scripting skills are a plus.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Very good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with team members and other developers.
• Strong communication skills including verbal and written skills are required.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.

Company Description

At SIE, working with our partners, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the individual base pay range may vary based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below, this is an hourly rate: $70 — $90 USD.

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

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