Staff Game Designer

San Francisco, CA

Role summary

Volley is hiring a Staff Game Designer to lead gameplay design for our most important games, defining experiences that engage millions of players. This senior-level role requires someone versatile enough to seamlessly move between game design, rapid prototyping (technical art), and UX/UI design—ensuring a cohesive and polished player experience. You'll leverage your broad skill set and deep interest in generative AI to set new standards for creativity, innovation, and productivity at Volley.

This job opportunity offers a hybrid work arrangement, and we are specifically seeking candidates who are comfortable with on-site attendance in our Bay Area office 3 times per week (MWF) and are either currently residing in or near the Bay Area or willing to relocate for on-site work.

What you'll do at Volley

  • Own end-to-end gameplay design for our top-priority titles, creating innovative core mechanics, compelling progression systems, and intuitive UI interactions.
  • Quickly prototype ideas directly within visual editors (Unity, PlayCanvas, or similar), validating gameplay concepts early and often through player feedback.
  • Clearly communicate your vision, align stakeholders, and document designs to keep product, art, and engineering teams closely aligned.
  • Proactively mentor junior and mid-level designers, significantly elevating design skills, creative thinking, and implementation standards across Volley.
  • Serve as a thought leader on leveraging generative AI tools to enhance productivity, creativity, and gameplay quality across the company.

Stuff you may have done before

  • Held a senior or lead game design role at a studio focused on casual or mobile games, contributing to a product with meaningful scale (e.g., millions of players or top category rankings).
  • Defined and executed gameplay systems that balanced creative vision with data-informed iteration and real-world player impact.
  • Navigated ambiguous product goals and used strong judgment to scope and prioritize features with high strategic value.
  • Acted as a key contributor or design lead in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment—collaborating with product managers, engineers, artists, and executives.
  • Scaled your impact by mentoring designers, driving cross-team standards, or influencing design culture beyond your immediate scope.
  • Explored or implemented generative AI in a production setting to enhance productivity, creativity, or user-facing content.

Must-haves

  • 8+ years in professional game design, ideally shipping multiple successful casual or mobile games.
  • Demonstrated expertise across game design, technical art implementation (rapid prototyping, visual editor workflows), and UX/UI design for games.
  • Proven ability to strategically lead design vision, execute complex ideas, and produce measurable player impact.
  • Enthusiasm for—and ideally hands-on experience with—generative AI tools, whether for personal workflow, creativity, or innovative game mechanics.
  • Exceptional collaboration skills: you thrive in a highly cross-functional, fast-paced startup environment and know how to align diverse teams around a shared vision.
  • Deep passion for casual gaming, with sharp instincts about what makes games broadly appealing, replayable, and enjoyable.

Our stack

  • Prototyping & Game Engines: Unity, PlayCanvas, HTML5/WebGL
  • Design & Visual Tools: Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Collaboration: Slack, Notion, Linear
  • AI & Analytics: ChatGPT, Midjourney, Amplitude, Tableau
  • User Testing: PlaytestCloud, UserTesting

Your first 90 days

  • Deliver a functional prototype or key gameplay improvement that demonstrates a step change in quality or engagement for a flagship title.
  • Ramp up quickly on our tools, systems, and team dynamics while identifying early opportunities for process improvement.
  • Build trust and alignment with stakeholders across design, engineering, and product leadership.
  • Begin mentoring other designers, providing feedback, and raising execution quality through direct collaboration.
  • Lead the launch of a new gameplay feature or system that moves the needle on retention, engagement, or player feedback.

The hiring process

  • Stage 1 (Preliminary Screen)
  • Stage 2 (Hiring Manager Interview)
  • Stage 3 (Portfolio Review)
  • Stage 4 (Onsite Interview)
  • Stage 5 (Offer)

What's in it for you

  • Your medical, dental, and vision insurance is 100% covered by Volley, for yourself and all dependents and we match 401k!
  • We offer a flexible, hybrid work-from-home and in-office work model.
  • We offer 4 weeks of paid time off (enforced 2-week minimum), 16 paid holidays, 40 hours of bereavement leave, and unlimited sick days.
  • Our generous parental leave policy includes 24 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 12 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents.
  • We offer visa support for eligible candidates, making relocating for the job smoother and more streamlined.
  • A full breakdown of our benefits is here!

For Pay Transparency: The salary range that we expect to pay for this position is $190,780-$262,323 annually. This is a portion of the pay band for the role and level we are seeking. The final offer amount will depend on experience, education and skills. Base pay is only one part of the total package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work.

About Us

Volley is the leading developer of AI-powered games for Amazon Alexa, Roku TVs, and mobile devices. Our games attract millions of users every month. Popular Volley games include Song Quiz, Jeopardy!, and The Price Is Right.

We believe voice interfaces will become the main way people access entertainment in their living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and cars. We’re building a bundled subscription product similar to Netflix or Spotify for the emerging category of “AI-powered games.”

Volley was founded by Max Child and James Wilsterman in 2016. We're headquartered in downtown San Francisco in the historic Phelan Building! We’re a quickly growing team that truly enjoys working together. If you think you would enjoy creating joyful games on top of a rapidly evolving AI technology stack, please get in touch!

Volley believes in an inclusive workplace and is committed to building a team from a variety of backgrounds. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive the other benefits and privileges of employment.

Underrepresented candidates and candidates from nontraditional backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply!

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