Level Designer (4-month contract)

Blackbird Interactive

1d•Remote

About The Position

Blackbird Interactive is seeking an experienced Level Designer to contribute to the creation of high-quality gameplay spaces for a third-person military tactical shooter. This role involves designing and building environments and combat spaces that emphasize tactical decision-making, squad-based gameplay, and memorable military operations, while ensuring strong pacing, readability, and player agency. The designer will collaborate with art and engineering teams to develop authentic, strategically engaging, and grounded environments. Responsibilities include aligning content with the overall creative vision, and managing a full level from initial layout through implementation, iteration, and polish. This position is ideal for someone who enjoys crafting combat spaces that support multiple tactical approaches, reward planning and execution, and create memorable gameplay experiences.

Requirements

A minimum of 5 years of experience contributing to game development, with a strong focus on level design within action, shooter, or combat-focused games
Experience shipping at least one title, ideally within the shooter space, with an understanding of the full content lifecycle from implementation through polish
Comfort working independently on assigned content, with the ability to manage tasks, iterate on feedback, and solve implementation problems in a dynamic production environment
Strong collaboration and communication skills, including the ability to work closely with other designers, artists, engineers, and audio partners to deliver cohesive gameplay experiences
Familiarity with level editing and gameplay scripting in Unreal, with confidence building, debugging, and maintaining gameplay spaces directly in-engine
Strong understanding of combat space design, player navigation, encounter pacing, and environmental readability

Nice To Haves

A passion for military fiction, tactical shooters, and squad-based gameplay
Appreciation for systemic gameplay and how level design supports multiple tactical approaches and emergent combat scenarios
An interest in cinematic mission design, including staging, composition, scripted moments, and environmental storytelling
Care about polish, clarity, and player comprehension, and enjoy iterating on spaces to improve navigation, combat readability, and overall gameplay experience
Curiosity about how level design, AI, and systems intersect to create cohesive, replayable combat experiences rather than isolated encounters

Responsibilities

Collaborate with art, engineering, and production to support and implement the established creative vision, raising questions or inconsistencies as they arise during development
Work within production schedules and constraints, implementing level content in a timely and iterative manner while communicating risks or dependencies to appropriate team members
Design and build levels end-to-end, including layout, combat encounters, traversal, pacing, player flow, and objectives
Create and implement tactical combat spaces that support flanking, cover usage, squad coordination, sightlines, and multiple approaches to objectives
Script and set up gameplay events, encounters, AI behaviors, triggers, and environmental interactions to support mission functionality and player experience
Test, debug, and iterate on levels regularly, identifying and resolving issues related to navigation, combat balance, progression blockers, readability, and edge cases
Respond constructively to feedback, refining layouts, encounters, pacing, and mission flow to improve clarity, challenge, and overall player experience
Maintain an understanding of core gameplay systems and AI behaviors, adjusting layouts and encounters to support tactical gameplay and multiple player approaches