Lead Level Designer

Giant Skull•Encino, CA

5d•$160,000 - $225,000

About The Position

Giant Skull is an independent game studio focused on creating single-player, gameplay-driven action-adventures in immersive worlds. The Lead Level Designer holds the vision for levels across the game and sets the quality bar, ensuring narrative, gameplay mechanics, puzzles, and traversal combine into immersive player experiences. The role balances craft and team leadership with hands-on level building. Working with the Design Director, the Lead Level Designer defines level vision and direction, communicates goals through documents, feedback, and presentations, and reviews work to maintain creative and technical standards. The role improves level design practices and pipelines, uses playtesting to refine levels, and partners with production to plan milestones and deliver work on schedule. The Lead Level Designer mentors designers and fosters collaborative, candid feedback across disciplines. They also pitch, build, and polish levels; create layouts, puzzles, traversal spaces, and environmental storytelling; and work with environment art, gameplay, and content design to support the game's mechanics, narrative, and worldbuilding.

Requirements

Extensive level design experience, ideally 10 or more years, designing high-quality levels for third-person action-adventure games.
Ownership of major spaces from concept through polish on multiple shipped titles.
Experience leading and mentoring level designers, including setting direction, providing feedback, and supporting growth.
Deep understanding of level design principles, pacing, layout, flow, and intuitive guidance through gameplay and story.
Strong game-engine proficiency and ability to work hands-on from blockout through polish.
Ability to define and communicate a quality bar and deliver to quality standards while balancing scope and schedule.
Experience planning and tracking level work against milestones and coordinating cross-discipline dependencies.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a team-focused approach.
Ability to partner with art, narrative, gameplay design, engineering, and other disciplines in service of the player experience.
Proactive problem-solving skills and initiative to drive improvements.
Ability to give and receive constructive feedback and commitment to an open feedback culture.

Nice To Haves

Unreal Engine experience.
10 or more years of level design experience.

Responsibilities

Help define the vision and direction for levels in collaboration with the Design Director.
Set and uphold level design quality standards while balancing scope and constraints.
Communicate level goals and intended player experiences through vision documents, feedback, and presentations.
Conduct regular level reviews and critiques, providing constructive feedback and ensuring creative and technical standards are met.
Champion playtesting and feedback loops, using observations and data to improve flow, pacing, and player clarity.
Define and improve level design standards, pipelines, workflows, and best practices; organize level information using systems and documentation.
Lead, mentor, guide, and coach level designers to support their autonomy and growth.
Collaborate with production to plan milestone deliverables and a realistic roadmap.
Drive level execution on schedule, maintain momentum, make timely decisions, and escalate when clarity or resources are needed.
Cultivate collaboration across the game development leadership team and between disciplines; foster trust, open discourse, and candid feedback.
Model positive leadership, maintaining quality and delivery focus with integrity, empathy, and composure.
Own and build levels from pitch and blockout through final polish.
Design layouts, puzzles, traversal spaces, and environmental storytelling aligned with gameplay loops, narrative, and worldbuilding.
Work with environment artists to create visually compelling, gameplay-driven spaces.
Shape how spaces connect to lore, traversal systems, and player-driven storytelling.
Work with gameplay and content design leads to ensure levels support elements such as combat and encounters.
Author documentation that communicates level goals, structure, and intended player experience.