Senior Game Designer (Contract )

Instrument

2d•$61 - $78•Hybrid

About The Position

Instrument is a digitally native design and technology company built to help brands unlock their full potential. Since 2005, our team of makers, thinkers, and storytellers has partnered with leading brands like Google, Nike, Uber, ÅURA, and Eventbrite to craft digital experiences that create impact and drive results. Unlike traditional agencies, we donât just designâwe build. Our work lives at the intersection of taste and technology, powered by curiosity, thoughtful curation, and a commitment to delivering the most fitting solution for every brief. We bring this to life across three core offerings: Brand, Marketing, and Product. Weâre a hands-on, highly collaborative team of multi-hyphenates who move fast from idea to execution. With offices in Portland and NYC and a distributed team across the U.S. and Europe, we scale for big moments and stay nimble for the quick onesâalways building teams around the unique needs of each project. Weâre a place for people who never stop learningâthose excited to stretch their craft, experiment with new tools, and grow through collaboration. We believe great work comes from a mix of perspectivesâpeople with different paths, passions, and lived experiences. Weâre proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, supporting diversity and providing reasonable accommodations so everyone can do their best work. We believe great work comes from a mix of perspectivesâpeople with different paths, passions, and lived experiences. Come join us and help shape whatâs next. Weâre looking for a Senior Game / Visual Designer to join a highly confidential project exploring a new kind of narrative, text-driven interactive experience. This role sits at the intersection of game systems, immersive visual design, and emerging technology, and is ideal for someone who loves designing worlds as much as interfaces. Youâll partner closely with a small, senior team to define how players move through â and emotionally experience â a richly layered, story-forward system.

Requirements

5â8+ years of experience in game design, interactive narrative, or systems-driven visual design
Strong understanding of diegetic UI and immersive interface design
Proven experience designing complex systems, loops, and progression models
Exceptional visual sensibility paired with clear systems thinking
Comfort working with ambiguity and helping define new frameworks from scratch
Ability to document thinking clearly for cross-functional teams

Nice To Haves

TTRPG literacy (D&D, narrative tabletop systems, or similar) â Familiarity with branching narratives, player agency, and emergent storytelling is a big win.

Responsibilities

Create immersive, âin-worldâ interfaces that feel native to the narrative rather than overlaid on top of it.
Design and document complex gameplay loops that support narrative progression, player choice, and state-based outcomes
Shape how players receive information through visual, textual, and sensory cues â including state changes, progression signals, and emotional feedback.
Help define and curate guidelines for AI-generated assets (portraits, environments, landscapes), ensuring stylistic cohesion and narrative integrity.
Work closely with creative, design, and technical partners to ensure systems, visuals, and storytelling are deeply aligned.