Combat Designer (Senior+)

Velan Studios • Troy, NY

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Velan Studios is entering pre-production on a forthcoming third-person shooter concept and is seeking an experienced Combat Designer to drive important early-stage design decisions and lead implementation of combat design throughout the project. The role focuses on player traversal, intuitive camera controls, shooter-based combat, and creating responsive, engaging, and intuitive combat mechanics in collaboration with VFX artists and animators.

The Combat Designer will create combat and traversal sets for playable characters, define combat behaviors for enemies, allies, and bosses, and implement key systems in partnership with engineering. Working closely with cross-disciplinary teams and the Game Director, this role will help shape and deliver compelling combat designs. The position is hybrid or onsite. Hybrid work requires three days per week in the studio: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Studio locations are Troy, New York, and Toronto, Ontario.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of design experience.
• At least one shipped title as a combat designer in action or shooter genres.
• Ability to lead a small cross-disciplinary sub-team on a mid- or large-size development project.
• General scripting proficiency.
• Solid cross-disciplinary communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in third-person, controller-based shooter combat in an action-adventure setting.
• Experience designing co-op gameplay.
• Experience with quick initial gameplay prototyping to prove or disprove a direction.

Responsibilities

• Create compelling combat design and traversal sets for playable characters.
• Define the combat behaviors of enemies, allies, and bosses.
• Collaborate closely with cross-discipline teams, including artists, animators, audio designers, and gameplay programmers.
• Implement key systems in partnership with engineering teams.
• Work as a team lead with the Game Director to shape and implement compelling combat designs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed