Game Design Intern [Spring 2027]

Crystal Dynamics

8h • $21 - $24 • Remote

About The Position

Crystal Dynamics is hiring a remote Game Design Intern for its 12-week Spring 2027 internship program. The internship runs February 1 through April 23, 2027, and is open to candidates living in eligible U.S. states. Interns work full-time, 40 hours per week, during core business hours. The first week is onsite at the studio in San Carlos, California for onboarding; the remainder is remote. The internship provides hands-on contributions to active AAA projects, mentorship from experienced professionals, and exposure to collaborative game-development teams and production workflows.

The intern will learn and apply development workflows in Unreal Engine, including Blueprint scripting, rapid prototyping, and playtesting. With guidance from a design mentor and project design leadership, the intern will review and refine their work, help improve combat and traversal mechanics, and prototype scoped gameplay features. Assignments may include progression and upgrade systems, movement abilities, systemic encounters, or a focused boss encounter. The intern will also help develop and document repeatable workflows for gameplay and level design and testing, explore Unreal Engine PCG tools, create reusable test setups, and record findings.

The internship is paid. The posting gives an internship pay rate of $21–$24 per hour in the compensation section; an earlier FAQ passage gives a rate of $20–$23 per hour. Interns are eligible for medical, dental, and vision benefits.

Requirements

• Graduated from a college or university program in 2026 (Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter).
• Degree in Animation, Art, Game Art, Technical Art, Game Design, Game Development, Engineering, or a related field.
• Availability to work full-time (40 hours per week) during core business hours for the duration of the program, February 1 through April 23, 2027, including the first week onsite in San Carlos, California.
• Legal eligibility to work in the United States.
• Submit a complete application including a resume, cover letter, and a link to a portfolio or GitHub.

Nice To Haves

• Foundational hands-on experience with Unreal Engine and Blueprint scripting, demonstrated through a small playable project, prototype, or coursework.
• Portfolio examples showing gameplay logic or systems, such as a character ability, movement mechanic, interaction, encounter, or simple progression system, with an explanation of the candidate’s contribution, how the logic works, and how a problem was investigated or the result improved.
• A playable gameplay or level prototype demonstrating experimentation, attention to player experience, and iteration based on testing or feedback; personal, classroom, and game jam projects are welcome.
• Industry involvement outside classroom curriculum, such as game jams, personal projects, or contributions to group projects.
• Exposure to industry-standard development software tools and engines.
• Willingness to tackle challenges, learn from feedback, and adapt to new tools or workflows.
• Ability to communicate ideas, eagerness to learn, and willingness to put feedback into action.

Responsibilities

• Learn and apply Unreal Engine development workflows using Blueprint scripting, rapid prototyping, and playtesting to turn design ideas into working gameplay.
• Review, test, and refine work with guidance from a design mentor.
• Help improve existing combat and traversal mechanics by reproducing issues, debugging Blueprint logic, tuning gameplay values, and building small test spaces to evaluate movement distances, timing, readability, and game feel.
• Prototype clearly scoped gameplay features with guidance from project design leadership; potential assignments include progression and upgrade systems, new movement abilities, systemic encounters, or a focused boss encounter.
• Contribute ideas and iterate on a small playable prototype through regular feedback.
• Help develop and document repeatable workflows for designing, building, and testing gameplay and levels.
• Explore Unreal Engine procedural content generation (PCG) tools, create reusable test setups, and record findings so others can build on the experiments.

Benefits

• Paid internship compensation; the posting lists $21–$24 per hour in the internship pay-rate section and $20–$23 per hour in the FAQ.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits eligibility.
• Access to industry professionals, networking opportunities, and a supportive learning environment.
• Unlimited snacks in the office.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern