Design Lead – 12-month Contract
Blackbird Interactive
contract
Posted on:
Location Type: Remote
Location: Canada
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Salary
💰 CA$95,000 - CA$120,000 per year
Job Level
About the role
- Work closely with project leadership and our publishing partner to understand, reinforce, and help execute the established creative vision across gameplay systems and features.
- Lead and support a team of designers in the implementation, tuning, balancing, and polish of gameplay features, with a focus on delivering a cohesive, high-quality player experience.
- Provide clear guidance, feedback, and mentorship to designers, helping them translate high-level direction into effective, shippable designs while supporting professional growth.
- Collaborate closely with engineering to implement gameplay systems and tools that support design goals, scalability, and efficient iteration.
- Partner with art and audio teams to ensure gameplay systems are readable, expressive, and aligned with the intended player experience, reinforcing design intent through presentation.
- Communicate design goals, constraints, and priorities clearly across disciplines, ensuring teams remain aligned as features evolve.
- Identify execution risks, design gaps, or dependency issues early, working with production to adjust scope, sequencing, or implementation plans as needed.
- Contribute hands-on to the implementation of gameplay content and systems as needed, helping unblock the team, prototype solutions, or carry features through critical phases of development.
Requirements
- At least 10 years of experience contributing to game development, including at least 5 in a design leadership or senior design role supporting team execution.
- Experience shipping at least one large-scale game, ideally with action-oriented or systems-driven gameplay.
- Strong understanding of core gameplay execution, including player controls, camera behavior, combat or interaction systems, and moment-to-moment game feel.
- Demonstrated ability to support, mentor, and review the work of other designers, improving consistency and quality across a team.
- Comfort operating in a technical, fast-moving production environment, balancing quality, scope, and schedule.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across design, engineering, art, audio, and production.
- Ability and willingness to implement gameplay content directly, using in-engine tools and workflows to prototype, iterate, and polish features alongside the team.
Benefits
- four-day work week
- in-studio, remote within Canada, and hybrid work arrangements as permanent options to our employees.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
game developmentgame designgameplay systemsgameplay featuresplayer controlscamera behaviorcombat systemsinteraction systemsprototypingiteration
Soft Skills
leadershipmentorshipcommunicationcollaborationproblem-solvingfeedbackguidanceteam alignmentrisk identificationquality assurance