Senior Combat Designer - Raven - Middleton, WI

Activision Blizzard • Middleton, WI

3d • $82,240 - $152,160 • Onsite

About The Position

Your mission is to develop, implement, and refine combat systems that will be enjoyed by millions of players worldwide in Call of Duty: Warzone. Reporting to the Associate Design Director, you will balance and implement various combat systems including weapons, functional equipment, kill streaks and perks. Success in this role requires the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, often ambiguous environment. You must be agile and adaptable, working seamlessly with internal and external collaborators. Strong communication skills are essential, as is the ability to execute at the highest level of quality with consistency. The ideal candidate is a self-sufficient systems designer who takes ownership, proactively solves challenges, and consistently delivers high-quality work on time. Above all, we seek an innovative and dedicated systems implementor who will collaborate closely with the combat lead to deliver well balanced gameplay for Warzone’s seasonal content needs. This role is based in our Middleton, WI office and follows an onsite work schedule of four days per week. Work arrangements may change at the company's discretion to meet business needs.

Requirements

• 8+ years in the games industry working in a system design capacity.
• At least 3 shipped titles in the AAA/ PC space with 2 as a combat designer.
• Prior and current implementation experience with programming/scripting languages.
• Prior experience balancing combat system metas including weapons.
• Prior experience working on a games-as-a-service product.
• FPS experience.
• Understanding of Call of Duty Warzone including systems, modes and gameplay.
• Solid understanding of systems design with ability to clearly discuss modern trends.
• Possess a comprehensive understanding of the design process spanning all facets of the game.
• Expertise writing high and low-level documentation (Confluence, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Visio, etc.).
• Passionate and egoless attitude that welcomes feedback and enjoys working in a collaborative, iterative, and agile process.
• Ability to lead by example.
• Impressive communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Hunger for gaming (especially online) with a broad range of game experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with visual software (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).
• Experience mentoring junior designers.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of the F2P games space.
• Profound understanding of the Call of Duty franchise and Warzone.
• Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the FPS games space.

Responsibilities

• Balance and maintain core player facing combat systems that define the player experience for Warzone and enhance player engagement and investment.
• Help define the vision and structure of proposed game play systems, ensuring their alignment with the overall game play experience, mechanics, and pacing of the game.
• Establish workflows and best practices to maintain consistently high quality, and mentor less experienced team members to develop their skills and make meaningful contributions.
• Investigate and implement superior development methods to keep quality at expected competitive levels.
• Hold and communicate the vision for weapons and combat systems to successfully collaborate with other Designers, Engineers, Artists, Producers, and Animators.
• Regularly communicate with the Combat Lead and Production to manage expectations, timelines, and deliverables.
• To achieve a level of consistency between systems, close collaboration with the premium studio will be required.
• Develop and test combat systems to evaluate player experience and balance.
• Analyze player feedback in test and live environments to refine key tunings, and overall player satisfaction, ensuring that they support diverse playstyles and offer rewarding experiences.
• Be a proactive self-starter that can independently implement high-level direction if needed.
• Use scripting tools to create, iterate, and balance game mechanics and systems.
• Clearly and effectively pitch designs and features using multimedia tools when needed.
• Create and maintain design documentation, including systems design briefs, flowcharts, and implementation guidelines.
• Collaborate with the team to work within tools and scripting systems to bring combat gameplay to life.
• Play builds of games in-progress and provide concise and prioritized feedback to both internal development teams, user-testing teams, and external partners.
• Ensure systems meet the highest standards of quality, from gameplay balance to technical performance.
• Collaborate with internal and external teams to resolve systems related bugs, overseeing the final polish to ensure a consistent and satisfying player experience.

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