Senior Game Designer

Jackbox Games•Chicago, IL

5d•$105,393 - $126,512•Hybrid

About The Position

Jackbox Games is looking for a Senior Game Designer to join our team! Who are We? Jackbox is a mid-sized game studio (~80 people) best known for our Jackbox Party Pack franchise: a set of five social party games released every fall. Since 2014, our games--like Quiplash, Drawful, and Trivia Murder Party-- have been featured on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, by Polygon, and in living rooms and finished basements across the world. In 2020, we had over 200 million users. And we have hard evidence that one of those users was Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron. You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about how our games work (spoiler: your phone is the controller!) and who we are and what we make at Jackbox Games . What’s the Job? Jackbox Games is seeking a Senior Game Designer to provide creative leadership and design expertise for our acclaimed Party Pack series. In this senior role, you'll create innovative game concepts, lead design teams, and ensure our games deliver the perfect blend of humor, accessibility, and engagement that defines the Jackbox experience. As a Senior Game Designer, you'll be a creative force on our team, conceptualizing new games, crafting compelling player experiences, and collaborating with the Game Directors while maintaining our commitment to making games that anyone can play and everyone can enjoy.

Requirements

6+ years of game design experience with multiple shipped titles
Proven track record designing successful multiplayer or social games
Strong understanding of party game dynamics and social play patterns
Familiarity with scripting languages for rapid prototyping
Experience leading design teams and mentoring other designers
Demonstrated ability to create original game concepts and mechanics
Strong analytical skills for interpreting player feedback and metrics
Experience with rapid prototyping and iterative design processes
Deep understanding of game balancing and player progression systems
Passion for creating inclusive, accessible gaming experiences

Nice To Haves

Experience designing for mobile touchscreen interfaces
We value kind, motivated, and creative people.
Jackbox Games is a group effort and you must work collaboratively.
Everyone here is committed to excellence and desires to work in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere.

Responsibilities

Lead game design efforts from initial concept through final production across Party Pack titles
Create original game concepts and pitch new ideas for future Party Packs
Design core game loops, progression systems, and player engagement mechanics
Establish design best practices and maintain consistency across multiple titles
Conduct and analyze playtests to iterate on game mechanics and player experience
Collaborate with Creative Directors, artists, engineers, and audio teams to bring designs to life
Balance gameplay to ensure casual player accessibility while maintaining competitive depth
Present design concepts and game pitches to stakeholders and executive leadership
Champion player-first design through user research and data analysis
Able to create engaging gameplay with only a few, easy to understand rules
Ability to take accessible ideas and make them a bit wacky, or take wacky ideas and make them accessible

Benefits

Pay range: $105,393 - $126,512. Please note: individual compensation packages are based on factors unique to each candidate and position, including (but not limited to) skill set, experience, and qualifications.
401(k) with matching and medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance options.
Flexible work schedule and environment. Currently, our employees are encouraged to work where they feel the safest and most productive. Our office in Lincoln Park in Chicago is open (and fully stocked with snacks) for folks who prefer to work in the office. We also offer remote work in the following states: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Flexible PTO. Take time off when you need to recharge, take a trip, or just catch up on life.
Annual stipends for therapy, growth, wellness, and home office equipment to encourage our employees’ lifelong learning pursuits and support mental and physical health.
Creative work environment. We are lucky to work in a place that is full of talented and innovative folks. Most of the day, the place is pretty quiet (we’re a focused bunch), but this is punctuated with hilarious outbursts and general merriment.
Free food either virtually or in the office. We stock our kitchen with snacks as well as offer doordash credits quite frequently.

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