Lead Sandbox Designer
At Turtle Rock, we make the games we want to play. We're dedicated to providing a collaborative environment where our team members feel empowered with the creative freedom to contribute and grow. While we are based in Orange County, CA, we support flexible work arrangements ranging from in-studio, hybrid, to fully remote throughout North America. Join our award-winning game development team and help create our next AAA title.
Turtle Rock is seeking a technically driven Lead Designer to build modular activity events that power our Mission Design team. This individual will own the vision and implementation of dynamic, replayable mission systems that form the backbone of our game. You’ll guide a team in creating a robust sandbox of emergent gameplay and collaborating across disciplines to deliver memorable, player-driven experiences.
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and maintain modular, highly replayable mission content
- Balance creative quality with technical and performance constraints
- Partner with the Lead Mission Designer and cross-discipline teams (Production, Art, Engineering) to craft engaging scenarios, events, and missions
- Manage a team of Mission Designers and review their work to craft engaging, replayable scenarios and events
- Own the technical implementation and have a hands-on approach to building modular content that can be used in the sandbox and in campaign content
- Drive the creation of efficient tools, workflows, and best practices for mission design and scripting
- Author clear, technical design documentation for sandbox systems, content, tools, and feature requests for downstream teams
- Work with production for planning out future milestones
- Mentor and manage team members through 1:1s, career development, performance reviews, goal setting, and hiring
- Provide constructive feedback and foster open design discussions
- Playtest regularly to evaluate and refine mission content
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7+ years in game development with at least one shipped AAA title on multiple platforms
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2+ years in a Lead role managing and mentoring designers
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Portfolio showcasing heavily scripted missions, dynamic objectives, or modular content
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Hands-on Unreal Engine/Blueprint expertise with deep understanding of implementation pipelines
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Expertise in sandbox/mission design from concept through delivery, with strong pacing and playtesting skills
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Proven ability to thrive in a highly collaborative, iterative environment
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Passion for FPS, co-op, and multiplayer games
Preferences
- Working knowledge of C++
- Experience developing cooperative FPS titles
- Familiarity with Perforce, JIRA, and Confluence
Benefits
Some of the benefits and perks our employees get to enjoy, include:
- Flexible work environment allowing you to work in-studio as many days a week or full time remotely
- Medical, Dental, Vision 100% covered for you and your family
- 401k matching
- Student Loan Paydown Plan / College Savings Plan
- Career Improvement Plan
- Flexible time off policy
- Fully stocked kitchen and sponsored food trucks
- Fun company events, both in-person and virtual gatherings throughout the year
The estimated base pay range for this role is: $140,000 —$195,000 USD
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
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