Senior Mission Designer

Insomniac Games•United States, Remote, CA

7h•$70 - $80•Remote

About The Position

Insomniac is hiring a Contract Senior Mission Designer for a six-month engagement through staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions. The role is accountable for the quality and on-time delivery of one or more full mission experiences, from initial pitches and blockout through scripting, combat encounters, and narrative integration. The designer works under a Mission Director and Game Director and collaborates with a multidisciplinary pod to create open-world and/or linear experiences. The designer develops, implements, iterates on, and polishes missions; adapts creative briefs based on direction and feedback; and coordinates with combat, narrative, environment art, gameplay programming, and production teams. The role also involves learning proprietary tools, prototyping gameplay, documenting mission work, addressing bugs, and keeping assigned missions playable and polished throughout development. The designer helps ensure that missions are understandable and accessible, and contributes to a safe, supportive, and creative work environment. This flexible role can be remote. The posted Seattle base pay range is $70–$80 per hour; pay may vary by geographic location and job-related factors. The role is eligible for medical, dental, and vision benefits. Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for new employees.

Requirements

At least five years of professional game design experience.
At least one shipped title as a Level or Mission Designer.
Proven expertise in level or mission development from initial pitch through ship.
Expertise in 3D blockout, composition, and flow using software such as Maya or game engines.
High proficiency with modern game engines, such as Unreal or proprietary engines, and proven experience scripting and prototyping directly.
Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills across disciplines.
Intermediate knowledge and experience with level-editing tools and scripting in Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar editors.
Intermediate knowledge of Maya or another major 3D modeling program.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
Very good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with team members and other developers.

Nice To Haves

Experience in mission or level design for third-person games is preferred.
Adobe Illustrator experience.
UE4 Blueprint scripting skills.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, iterate on, and polish one or more open-world or linear missions.
Adapt initial creative briefs into full missions under the direction of the Mission Director and Game Director, aligning work with feedback and changes.
Collaborate with a multidisciplinary pod to pitch, lay out, and integrate combat, gameplay, and narrative into mission experiences.
Learn and use internal proprietary tools for 3D layout and technical scripting.
Gather and respond proactively to feedback, iterating on mission design throughout production to achieve a high level of polish.
Collaborate with the combat team to create compelling encounters through layout, enemy composition, and scripting.
Work with writers and the narrative team to integrate the larger narrative, create gameplay-based narrative moments, and develop mission-specific narrative.
Work with Environment Artists to ensure mission layout and construction meet departmental constraints and quality targets.
Prototype novel gameplay mechanics or sequences and collaborate with Gameplay Programmers on mission-specific gameplay as needed.
Communicate mission status, major changes, and dependencies to Development Managers, the mission pod, and the wider game team; create documentation as needed.
Address bugs and gameplay issues and keep assigned missions playable throughout development.
Improve player comprehension, narrative clarity, gameplay tutorials, difficulty, and accessibility so missions remain understandable and playable.
Help create a safe, supportive, and creative work environment that exemplifies studio values.
Perform other creative or production duties related to mission design as needed.