Principal Designer

2K • Los Angeles, CA

3h • Hybrid

About The Position

2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world, including Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, 31st Union, HB Studios, and 2K SportsLab. Their portfolio of titles is expanding and includes several AAA, sports and entertainment brands, such as NBA®️ 2K, BioShock®️, Borderlands®️, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization®️, XCOM®️, WWE®️ 2K, WWE®️ SuperCard, TopSpin 2K25, and PGA TOUR®️ 2K. 2K prides itself on creating an inclusive work environment and encourages all applicants to explore their global positions. As Principal Designer, you will define the moment-to-moment player experience, establishing gameplay standards, systemic rules, and implementation metrics to ensure the game delivers a cohesive, high-fidelity AAA feel across traversal, combat, interaction, and camera behavior. You will act as the bridge between creative direction and engineering execution, translating intent into playable reality and maintaining consistency across the entire experience.

Requirements

• 10+ years in AAA Game Design: A proven track record in 3rd or 1st person blockbusters across multiple shipped titles.
• Unreal Engine Mastery: Deep experience shipping gameplay systems in Unreal Engine, (blueprints, data driven architecture, and level streaming.)
• Systemic Thinking: A focus on building scalable frameworks and ecosystems rather than one-off features.
• The Bridge: To partner with art, animation, engineering, and tech design to synthesize feedback and rapidly iterate to meet the studio’s quality standards.
• Forward Looking: A drive to improve workflows and leverage new technology to create unique gameplay experiences.

Responsibilities

• Design Governance: Define the "Golden Rules" for systems and world-building including process, metrics, and standards, to ensure mechanical consistency across the entire game.
• Workflow Architect: Act as the final authority on how the design team utilizes tools and engine features in partnership with the Gameplay Engineering team.
• Craft Mastery: Maintain hands-on authority over gameplay feel through direct in-engine iteration across mechanics, traversal, level design, and gameplay scripting.
• CCC Ownership: Define the technical implementation of Character, Camera, and Controls, establishing the exact metrics that create the game’s signature feel.
• Execution Excellence: Ensure the player experience is cohesive and polished, maintaining a "Game of the Year" quality bar for all shipped features.

Benefits

• a bonus and/or equity awards
• a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits
• reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees