Lead Designer

Iron Galaxy employees can elect to work from the office or home through end-2021. This policy extends to anyone that Iron Galaxy hires between now and then. Any equipment that you might need for projects at Iron Galaxy will be set up for you onsite or shipped directly to you based on preference.

Diversity matters at Iron Galaxy. Every day, our team strives to build on an inclusive environment where all voices are equal. We believe in continuous improvement. Our constant growth relies on being open to the cultures of players everywhere. Whether you find us online or in our games, Iron Galaxy provides a safe space for everyone. For all positions, we are looking for the next team member to challenge us to be better.

Iron Galaxy Studios is looking for a passionate Lead Designer to champion great design, help own products and help manage partnerships. This role will serve on a team that is working to create and launch a brand-new multiplayer game set in a completely original universe. The Lead Designer fosters a collaborative design team through ideation, consensus formation, prototyping, implementation, and iteration of game features. Designers at Iron Galaxy work on a wide variety of projects, including creating new games from the ground up, co-developing games with partners, and porting existing games to new platforms.

Our projects tend to have a variety of development cycles, with many opportunities to work on various project genres, each with a unique set of challenges. Our development environment keeps things fresh and provides new challenges requiring adaptability and complex problem-solving. As a Lead Designer, you have a foundation in professional game design skills that demonstrates a variety of fun and engaging gameplay features and a track record of contributing to shipped titles or live ops work.

This position is available in either Chicago, IL or Orlando, FL

Core Responsibilities

• Establish and own the design vision while empowering game designers to be feature owners
• Work with production and design manager to estimate and schedule design resource needs and deployment for the project
• Collaborate with Leads from other disciplines to prioritize game features for development
• Lead a team of designers giving and receiving feedback with healthy candor and respect
• Be prepared to handle difficult conversations both with individual designers as well as partners
• Foster collaboration and feedback on game features during design and implementation
• Lead by example with hands-on implementation, iteration, and tuning of systems and features
• Design, implement and lead game design for a variety of genres across single and multiplayer
• Execute player-focused design and ensure quality gameplay
• Design with passion at any phase of development: from ideation, paper/ digital prototyping, iteration, and polish
• Prepare playtest criteria and conduct analysis to foster meaningful iterations to improve player experience
• Provide white glove service for a variety of development partners and assess their needs by understanding their priorities, creative vision, and adopting their preferred development process

Required Experience

• Shipped at least one game in a Sr or Lead Designer role on PC or Console
• Implementation and iteration on features in-engine (visual or text scripting logic)
• Experience working in industry-standard engines and software
• Capable of being self-sufficient, highly collaborative, and helping to manage planning and client expectations
• Strong understanding of interactive design
• Documented and shared ideas and feedback concisely and constructively in a professional setting
• Strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills

Bonus Skills and Experience

• Experience working with publishers or co-development partners
• Professional experience directly managing one or more other designers and offering mentorship
• Experience working on a variety of games and genres
• Experience developing for a variety of current platforms (PC, Xbox, PS, Nintendo, etc.)
• Experience working in a 3D package (Maya, Max, or equivalent)
• Experience or skills in other game development disciplines (programming, art, animation, project management, etc.)

ABOUT IRON GALAXY
We are one of the world’s largest independent video game developers. Our people combine their talents to create amazing experiences for our players. We also partner with the best companies in our industry to team up on their projects. Our work has resulted in feature development for some of your favorite franchises, ports that move popular games from one platform to another, and remasters that breathe new life into beloved titles. We pride ourselves on our commitment to maintaining a positive culture and supporting a healthy balance between work and life for our employees.

See why we have been certified as a Great Place to Work!