Design Manager

Ghost Story Games is a self-publishing game development studio founded by Ken Levine and former Irrational Games developers. They are seeking a talented Design Manager to contribute to gameplay for their upcoming game, Judas, focusing on the integration of narrative and game systems to enhance player experience.

Responsibilities:

• Manage Design Team personnel
• Collaborate with technical and systems design leads on tasking for those groups
• Create and maintain clear, concise design documentation that articulates system functionality
• Work hands-on in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) to prototype, build, and iterate on systems using Blueprint scripting
• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Art, Narrative, and QA to ensure the cohesive and successful implementation of gameplay features
• Champion the player experience, ensuring your designs are intuitive, engaging, and support a wide variety of playstyles
• Actively participate in playtests, gathering feedback and iterating on designs to achieve the highest possible quality
• Proactively identify design challenges and propose effective, innovative solutions that push creative boundaries
• Act as a strong advocate for the player experience, ensuring your designs are intuitive, engaging, and align with the overall vision of Judas
• Contribute significantly to design discussions and the evolution of design practices, fostering a studio culture of knowledge-sharing

Requirements:

• 5+ years of professional systems design experience on AAA titles
• Shipped at least one AAA game in a systems design capacity
• Proven expertise in designing and implementing core gameplay loops, progression systems, and player-facing mechanics
• Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5), particularly in-engine implementation and Blueprint scripting
• A proactive, self-motivated work ethic, with a strong sense of ownership and the ability to operate with autonomy
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts clearly
• A deep passion for creating emergent, systems-driven gameplay and narrative-rich experiences
• Understanding of telemetry and its uses within game development to validate implementations
• As a senior team member, you lead by example and demonstrate a willingness to mentor others
• Passion for narrative-driven First-Person Shooters
• Scripting proficiency within Unreal Engine (e.g., advanced Blueprint usage) is a plus. Experience with C++ is a bonus
• Direct experience with roguelike/roguelite or immersive sim genres
• Experience designing systems that enhance replayability and emergent outcomes
• Familiarity with content tracking tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, Hansoft) or version control systems (e.g., Perforce)