Principal Systems Designer

Scopely

1d•$144,200 - $215,000

About The Position

We're looking for a Principal Systems Designer to join us on an exciting unannounced title built on a globally recognized IP. This is a F2P, mobile-first live-service game currently in pre-production, and our team is defining the systems and progression that will support the game over the long term. At Scopely, we care deeply about what we do and want to inspire play, every day, whether in our work environments alongside our talented colleagues, or through our deep connections with our communities of players. We are a global team of game lovers who are developing, publishing, and innovating in the gaming industry, connecting millions of people around the world daily. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. You'll own the design and implementation of core systems, working with the Director of Systems Design and the broader systems and gameplay teams to turn ambiguous, zero-to-one problems into shippable, well-instrumented systems. You'll work across quantitative modeling and in-engine implementation, building the tuning, tools, and systems needed to bring progression models to life. You'll also partner closely with combat and gameplay design to ensure abilities, progression, and scaling work together as a cohesive player experience.

Requirements

Ideally 8+ years of experience owning complex progression, economy, combat-adjacent, or related systems through development and launch or live operations
Strong technical capability, including experience building/maintaining spreadsheets and implementing systems in Unity, Unreal, a proprietary engine, or a scripting/tools environment
Deep understanding of RPG progression and scaling, including power curves, stat growth, gear or ability scaling, and their relationship with combat and content difficulty
Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including sound judgment about the strengths and limitations of data
Experience taking systems from initial definition through implementation, tuning, and a shippable state
Ability to translate ambiguous design problems into clear documentation that engineering, production, and other design partners can act on
Experience collaborating with combat, gameplay, or content designers to align progression systems with moment-to-moment gameplay
Evidence of learning from feedback, collaborating constructively across disciplines, and staying closely involved in implementation and iteration

Nice To Haves

Experience designing systems for F2P collector games
Experience with multiplayer action RPGs
Experience working with licensed IP

Responsibilities

Design and build core systems, including progression, combat scaling, economy, and rewards, from initial definition through shippable implementation
Partner with gameplay designers to ensure combat abilities, RPG progression, and scaling reinforce one another across the live-service lifecycle
Build and maintain models, simulations, and tuning tools that define loot tables, costs, XP curves, and stat scaling as the game evolves
Implement, tune, and iterate on systems directly in Unity and supporting design tools
Create clear design documentation that enables designers, engineers, and producers to execute effectively
Collaborate with engineering to define tools and pipelines that enable efficient systems authoring, tuning, and balancing
Use playtest results and analytics to evaluate system performance, identify opportunities, and iterate based on evidence
Evaluate system proposals constructively, identifying design risks, tradeoffs, and opportunities for improvement while supporting systems that can evolve with future content