Senior Combat Designer - VR

Project: Alien VR
Department: GAMES - DESIGN
Location: Marina Del Rey, CA / REMOTE

People make games great. And at Survios, we know we can’t grow from an acclaimed VR studio to the world’s premier game developer and publisher without them. That’s why our most valuable investments aren’t in the next-generation technology we use to make our games or the new HQ we’re building in Marina Del Rey, but in creating a hybrid workplace that seeks out talent across the globe, nurtures its people, and encourages fun. A workplace where every team member knows they’re respected and cared for. If you want to join a passionate team of developers driving toward the future of immersive gaming, we’d love to hear from you! Survios currently has an opening for a talented Senior Combat Designer - VR.

As a Senior Combat Designer, you will be responsible for shepherding first person combat interactions from initial concept, to prototype, asset integration, and finally tuning and polish. This position is responsible for overseeing and engaging with a rapid iteration pipeline for both player and enemy mechanics, and systems. The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge of game design theory, and tools pipelines, possess strong leadership skills and production know-how, and have the talent to produce and implement the highest quality work. This is your chance to define a new generation of gaming and entertainment.

Responsibilities:

• Drive and guide feature development on all Combat features and experiences (Enemies, Weapons, Controls, Interactions) from concept to ship.
• Tune and balance Combat feel with a strong understanding of project pillars and Player opportunities and limitations, and difficulty levels.
• Drive Combat focused playtests and gather feedback from the team and other stakeholders and translate it into actionable tasks.
• Communicate progress, raise issues and deliver work in a timely manner to the Design, and Project leads.
• Work closely with the Production team to manage scope of Combat features.
• Maintain clear, concise, and up-to-date design documentation for all Combat related features.
• Work collaboratively with all designers and ask insightful questions about their work to help integrate all features into a cohesive experience.
• Participate in the vetting and selection of team members for the broader design team.
• Contribute to a work environment that is motivating for team members and which fosters development and creation.

Requirements: 

• Deep understanding of combat design across multiple genres; able to explain and demonstrate how to use current and future systems to deliver on a specific combat feel.
• 5+ years of game industry experience designing and implementing 3C’s (character, controls, camera); Weapons feel, Player movement/abilities, Interactions, etc.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4/5 or similar proprietary editors; comfortable working in editors and understanding engine/game constraints and opportunities.
• Strong methodology and problem solving ability, with a focus on rapid iteration to achieve balance, accessibility, and fun.

Pluses:

• Experience working in VR, and with VR prototyping.
• Strong documentation ability.
• Knowledge of Agile Methodology, JIRA, Perforce, etc.
• Strong, updated and current portfolio with samples of your work.

About Us:

Survios is an award-winning game studio that takes a holistic approach to development, merging our hardware, software, and games expertise to create unbelievable immersive game experiences. As we expand our focus from VR-Only to create games across all PC and Console platforms, we’re dedicated to leveraging our passion, expertise, and creativity to develop and publish the next generation of groundbreaking and immersive video games.

Base salary range between $110,000 USD - $125,000 USD (Base salary range for applicants located within the United States)

Please note that the compensation information provided is a good faith estimate for this position only and is provided pursuant to the California Salary Transparency in Job Advertisements Law.

Survios takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the California Law, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.