Level Designer - High Moon Studios (Temporary)

Job Title:Level Designer - High Moon Studios (Temporary)

Requisition ID:R027924

Job Description:

Great Games Start with Great People! This is a significant time in our company’s history – and one of the most exciting times to join us! We are building a culture of collaboration and seeking an imaginative, skillful, and versatile Level Designer to join our team in Carlsbad, California.

Your mission will be to contribute as part of our Campaign Design Team by creating thoughtful, player-first content that supports highly tuned gameplay experiences enjoyed by millions of gamers across the globe. We are looking for someone who is a reliable contributor who designs efficiently and through iterative implementation, creating engaging spaces and gameplay that result in top-notch, triple-A levels.

You'll be someone who works from established goals and direction, but with a good degree of independence, able to turn feedback into actionable improvements that realize content specifications and design intent. You bring an agile and flexible mindset to actively collaborate with a variety of internal and external partners, are able to adapt to established workflows, and can maintain clear documentation.

We're also looking for someone who thrives with challenges and has a strong passion for the complex craft of Game Development, being an engaged and supportive teammate who contributes reliable work, communicates clearly, and helps the team make incredible and memorable games together.

Please note that this role is a temporary position estimated to be 12 months. This role is based in our Carlsbad, CA 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.

What you’ll do…

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:    

• Collaborate with Department Leads, other Designers, Animators, Artists, Engineers, and Producers to deliver world-class game experiences in immersive, engaging levels
• Be a proactive self-starter that can independently execute high-level direction
• Possess a comprehensive understanding of design processes spanning all facets of the game
• Create, review, and maintain design documents and systems specifications with an eye toward player-experience design and then provide verbal and written assessments of the same
• Clearly and effectively pitch designs and features using multimedia tools
• Identify and diagnose problems with game content, proposing and implementing solutions in a highly collaborative environment
• Use scripting tools to create, iterate, and polish the game’s content, from spatial geometry and combat encounters to game mechanics and systems
• Play in-progress builds and provide concise, prioritized feedback to both internal teams and external partners
• Assess best practices and advocate towards streamlining tools and processes
• Work closely with our user-testing teams during play-balancing to provide expert feedback

To succeed you should have…

• 5+ years of professional Level Design experience
• Shipped at least two games in Level or Game Design roles

• Solid understanding of gameplay design with ability to clearly discuss its vision, structure, implementation, and expected results
• Professional experience with programming/scripting languages (C#, Python, or Lua, for example)
• Ability to write high and low-level documentation (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Visio, etc.)
• Ability to lead by example echoed through a professional and team-focused personality
• Excellent communication and problem solving skills
• Passion for Call of Duty, with understanding of the franchise’s progression and reward systems
• Passion for gaming with a broad range of game experience

We’d love it if you also have…

• Prior experience working on First Person Action gameplay
• Prior experience developing game Mods
• Experience with visual software (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.)

• An understanding of the Call of Duty franchise, across its Premium releases and Warzone
• Familiarity with a wide variety of gameplay approaches while deeply immersed in Single Player, experience-driven games

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision Blizzard, we are committed to crafting a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

High Moon Studios

Founded in 2002, High Moon Studios is an award-winning studio developing for the Call of Duty® franchise, with past development on over 15 titles including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Black Ops Cold War and Warzone 2.0, Bungie’s Destiny 2: Forsaken, and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. We employ more than 170 people in Carlsbad, CA, a seaside city in San Diego County.

Our pride is our people and the experiences we have optimally crafted for our fans. High Moon's talent is comprised of gifted entertainment and technology professionals responsible for some of the most successful games ever made. We have award-winning developers, published artists and specialists recognized as among the best in their fields. Our studio has a history of using innovative techniques crafted to boost efficiency and product quality, which in turn enhances our studio's quality of life.

High Moon Studios is wholly owned by Activision. To learn more about our studio, please visit us at www.highmoonstudios.com.

Our World 

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences. 

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization.  

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up.  

Ready to Activate Your Future?  

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.   

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.  

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [email protected]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• 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;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $30.47 - $56.35 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.