World Builder

Absurd Ventures•Santa Monica, CA

22h•$110,000 - $130,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Level Designer – World Builder for our large-scale open world AAA game in Unreal Engine 5. You will be part of a team who is responsible for bringing this world to life by understanding how to translate design intent, narrative context, and artistic direction into cohesive, immersive playable spaces. This role sits at the intersection of level design, world-building and environment art requiring both strong artistic sensibilities and a deep understanding of how open worlds are constructed at scale.

Requirements

4+ years of experience in level design, world building, or level art for AAA games
Strong experience working in Unreal Engine (UE4 or UE5), including world-building tools and workflows
Proven ability at creating layouts and environments, from blockout all the way to polished, shippable quality, with a focus on creating believable immersive gameplay spaces
Strong eye for composition, scale, materiality, and environmental storytelling
Experience working with modular kits and large-scale open world pipelines
Understanding of gameplay considerations in environment construction (navigation, readability, player flow)
Solid knowledge of performance constraints and optimization practices in real-time environments
Ability to strongly collaborate across multiple disciplines, while taking ownership of large areas of the world from concepts to shippable quality
Ability to implement and design changes based on play testing data from both in and out of house data

Nice To Haves

Experience with World Partition, Data Layers, or similar large-world systems in UE5
Familiarity with procedural tools (Houdini, PCG workflows, foliage systems, etc.)
Experience working on open world or systemic games
Background in level design or strong design sensibility

Responsibilities

Build and assemble high-quality open world environments using Unreal Engine 5, working from greybox through final polish on both landscapes and cityscapes, including doing extensive terrain/landscape sculpting and modification.
Create and design layouts that support and focus on gameplay, narrative, and intended art direction needs. Helping to drive the overall design direction of the world, setting and maintaining a high bar for environmental storytelling, composition, gameplay needs and metrics, and player navigation.
Collaborate closely with Design, Level Design, Art Direction, and Tech Art to ensure environments support gameplay and storytelling goals.
Own world-building across large regions, ensuring consistency in composition, tone, and visual storytelling.
Contribute to the development and evolution of pipelines, workflows, and world-building standards.
Optimize environments for performance while maintaining visual fidelity.
Provide feedback on asset quality, modular kits, and world-building tools to improve overall efficiency and cohesion.
Dress environments using a mix of modular kits, bespoke assets, decals, foliage, and world composition tool.