Senior Combat Designer, Unannounced Project | Irvine, CA

Blizzard Entertainment • Irvine, CA

8d • $97,200 - $179,900 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Blizzard, we craft genre-defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations—only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people. We are looking for a Senior Combat Designer to help drive combat design for a new, unannounced game. As a senior individual contributor, you will set the vision and direction for combat systems and encounters, partnering closely with cross-disciplinary leads to deliver best-in-class gameplay experiences. You will operate with a high degree of ownership, shaping both moment-to-moment combat and long-term system design, ensuring a cohesive and compelling player experience. This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work onsite and some work from home. The home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in combat design, systems design, or related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated ownership of major gameplay systems through multiple phases of development, from prototyping to ship.
• Shipped at least one AAA title in a senior or lead-level design capacity with measurable impact on gameplay systems.
• Experience influencing cross-functional teams and contributing to product-level design decisions.
• Experience working in modern AAA engines and development pipelines.
• Deep expertise in combat design fundamentals including player feedback, encounter design, progression systems, and tuning.
• Strong systems design capability, with the ability to design scalable, extensible gameplay frameworks.
• Solid technical proficiency with scripting, data-driven design tools, or engine-based implementation workflows.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience applying playtest data and feedback to improve design outcomes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to align diverse teams around a shared vision.
• Player-focused mindset with a passion for delivering exceptional gameplay experiences.
• High level of ownership, accountability, and craftsmanship in all areas of work.
• Ability to lead through influence, mentorship, and constructive feedback.
• Strong collaboration skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Adaptability in an iterative and evolving development environment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing combat systems for AAA titles
• Experience contributing to franchise-defining gameplay or live service titles.
• Background in mentoring or developing other designers.
• Familiarity with scripting or programming languages such as C++, C#, Blueprint, Lua, or similar.
• Experience building scalable combat systems that support long-term content development.
• Broad knowledge of game genres and systems, with strong critical analysis skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the design vision for combat systems and gameplay experiences from early concept through final execution.
• Design and implement core combat mechanics, including player abilities, enemy behaviors, and systemic interactions.
• Establish combat design pillars, ensuring consistency in feel, responsiveness, readability, and player satisfaction.
• Create and oversee the development of complex enemy encounters that scale across progression and difficulty levels.
• Partner with level design to ensure combat spaces support gameplay clarity, pacing, and engagement.
• Collaborate with engineering and technical design to evolve tools, pipelines, and systems supporting combat development.
• Provide leadership through influence by mentoring designers, reviewing work, and raising the overall quality bar for combat design.
• Drive iteration efforts using playtest feedback, metrics, and qualitative insights to refine gameplay experiences.
• Author clear, structured design documentation that effectively communicates systems, features, and intent across teams.
• Act as a key stakeholder in cross-disciplinary decision-making, ensuring alignment between gameplay, narrative, and technical constraints.
• Identify risks early and proactively propose solutions to maintain quality and production timelines.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others
• Relocation assistance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed