Location: You’ll be based in our Cambridge studio so being within a commutable distance is essential. If this requires you to relocate, we offer relocation assistance.
Level: Expert and above.
About us: Ninja Theory is a six-time BAFTA award winning games company based in Cambridge, UK, and part of Xbox Game Studios. Our diverse and welcoming team values collaboration, quality, and excellence. We strive to maintain an inclusive culture that empowers deep focus, rewards creativity, and supports personal and professional growth.
Our Mission is: To Craft Life-changing Art with Game-changing Tech and we are committed to bringing together the best talent in the industry help us fulfil that promise.
Our Values: Greatness through Excellence, Teamwork & Integrity.
Your Role: We are looking for an ambitious and creative gameplay designer who will work closely with a team of veteran designers pushing the boundaries of what is possible in story-driven games. You will explore new levels of player freedom, immersion and creative problem solving, while working across broad set of gameplay systems and features. You will:
* Understand and engage with the design direction for gameplay.
* Work closely with the design team to ensure alignment on all aspects.
* Design, implement and iterate on gameplay features and systems.
* Collaborate with the level design team to create unforgettable gameplay moments.
* Be autonomous and provide a constant, critical eye on the quality of the work.
* Ensure gameplay provides the right level of progression, engagement and fun.
Requirements
We believe that skills and experience are not mutually exclusive. For that reason, we encourage you to apply even if you feel you don't meet 100% of the desirable requirements listed below.
Your Skill: This is a hands-on role working with custom tools and Unreal Engine 5, requiring deep understanding of gameplay mechanics, systems and player experience in third-person action-adventure games. The role involves close collaboration with animation, audio, code and character art teams, as well as prototyping and iterating on combat and gameplay systems.
Essential:
* Good knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 or equivalent.
* Experience working collaboratively with various departments.
* Ability to quickly prototype and iterate on gameplay mechanics.
* Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
* Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
Desirable:
* Deep understanding of gameplay systems in third-person action-adventure games.
* Ability to combine various mechanics and/or player abilities for intuitive and rewarding problem solving.
Your Experience: You are a creative, passionate, developer with an appetite for design excellence. You will have:
Essential:
* Proven, hands-on experience designing systems and mechanics for AAA character-action games.
Desirable:
* Interest in, or direct experience with, logical problem solving and puzzles.
* Previous experience in, or a solid understanding of, Level Design.
Our Benefits: We offer wide-ranging benefits, including, but not limited to:
* Hybrid, flexible work model with no fixed working hours.
* 5 weeks holiday plus 1 additional day for each year of service up to a maximum of 33 days per annum, plus bank holidays.
* Enhanced family leave.
* Bonus scheme.
* Annual wellbeing allowance.
* Private healthcare including medical, dental, and optical cover.
* Mentoring and career development.
* Income protection.
* Life Insurance.
* Where applicable, relocation assistance and visa sponsorship.
Working from Ninja House, you will benefit from our custom-built studio which offers a luxurious setting with cutting-edge facilities at your fingertips, including full motion capture stage. You’ll also receive complimentary catered lunch from our on-site pub, The Bird or Worm?
Our Process: To ensure a fair and inclusive hiring process which aligns to our studio equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) strategy, we use anonymised screening which automatically obscures personal identifying information from applications, helping to reduce unconscious bias from the start.
Where possible, we kindly ask that you submit anonymised reels/portfolios to support our ED&I commitments.
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a BAFTA Award winning studio in the Xbox Game Studios Group and be part of pushing the boundaries of interactive entertainment.
Please note: successful candidates will be asked to complete a test as part of the recruitment process. This advert closes on Sunday 5th October.