Blackbird Interactive is looking for an experienced Senior Level Designer to help build and deliver high-quality gameplay spaces for a third-person multiplayer action game. This role focuses on designing levels, combat spaces, and environments that promote engaging player interactions, support multiple playstyles, and deliver memorable multiplayer experiences through strong pacing, readability, and spatial design.
You'll work closely with game design, art, engineering, and production to create levels that are fun to play, strategically engaging, and visually compelling. The role involves collaborating with leadership to align content with the overall creative vision while owning levels end-to-end, from initial concept and blockout through implementation, iteration, and polish. If you enjoy crafting dynamic combat spaces, encouraging player choice, and creating highly replayable multiplayer experiences, this role could be a great fit.
Responsibilities
Collaborate with game design, art, engineering, and production to support and implement the established creative vision, raising questions or inconsistencies as they arise during development
Work within production schedules and constraints, implementing level content in a timely and iterative manner while communicating risks or dependencies to appropriate team members
Design and build levels end-to-end, including layout, combat spaces, traversal, pacing, player flow, and objective placement
Create engaging multiplayer environments that support varied combat scenarios, multiple player strategies, and balanced gameplay experiences
Script and implement gameplay events, encounters, objectives, triggers, and environmental interactions that support gameplay and replayability
Test, debug, and iterate on levels regularly, identifying and resolving issues related to navigation, combat balance, player flow, readability, progression, and edge cases
Respond constructively to feedback, refining layouts, combat spaces, and pacing to improve gameplay quality, balance, and player experience
Maintain an understanding of core gameplay systems and how they interact with level design, adjusting layouts to support multiple playstyles, team dynamics, and systemic gameplay
Requirements
A minimum of 5 years of experience contributing to game development, with a strong focus on level design for action, multiplayer, or combat-focused games
Experience shipping at least one title, ideally a multiplayer action or third-person game, with an understanding of the full content lifecycle from implementation through polish
Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, with confidence using in-engine level editing tools, Blueprint scripting, and gameplay workflows to build, implement, debug, and iterate on gameplay spaces
Comfort working independently on assigned content, with the ability to manage tasks, iterate on feedback, and solve implementation challenges in a dynamic production environment
Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work closely across design, art, engineering, audio, and production to deliver cohesive gameplay experiences
Strong understanding of combat space design, player navigation, encounter pacing, gameplay readability, and multiplayer level flow
Pluses
Passion for third-person action games and competitive or cooperative multiplayer experiences
Strong interest in hands-on level implementation, including layout design, encounter setup, scripting, and gameplay integration
Appreciation for systemic gameplay and how level design supports replayability, player expression, and multiple tactical approaches
Interest in creating memorable gameplay moments through level composition, pacing, and environmental storytelling
Care about polish, clarity, and player comprehension, and enjoy iterating on spaces to improve gameplay balance and overall player experience
Curiosity about how level design, gameplay systems, and player behavior intersect to create engaging, replayable multiplayer environments
Skills Required
- Minimum 5 years contributing to game development with strong focus on level design for action, multiplayer, or combat-focused games
- Experience shipping at least one title, ideally a multiplayer action or third-person game
- Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, in-engine level editing tools, and Blueprint scripting
- Ability to script and implement gameplay events, encounters, objectives, triggers, and environmental interactions
- Comfort working independently to manage tasks, iterate on feedback, and solve implementation challenges
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across design, art, engineering, audio, and production
- Strong understanding of combat space design, player navigation, encounter pacing, gameplay readability, and multiplayer level flow
- Passion for third-person action games and competitive or cooperative multiplayer experiences
- Interest in hands-on level implementation, layout design, encounter setup, scripting, and gameplay integration
- Appreciation for systemic gameplay, replayability, environmental storytelling, and polish
- Curiosity about how level design and gameplay systems intersect to create engaging multiplayer environments
What We Do
Blackbird Interactive (BBI) is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent studio - behind such games as Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, and the upcoming Homeworld 3, Minecraft Legends, and Crossfire: Legion. Founded by Rob Cunningham, Yossarian King, and Aaron Kambeitz in 2010, the award-winning Vancouver studio boast its own internal CG cinematics department, led by the founder of Pixar Canada, and has also been involved in various game-adjacent projects over the years - such as Project Eagle with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other initiatives with the eatART Foundation and Sanctuary AI.
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