Lead Gameplay Systems Designer

Irvine, CA

We Want You

A new world and a new journey await you. It is a world different from any other Blizzard has created.

If you’re a passionate game developer, and, well, a good human being, then we’d love to talk to you. We have a new AAA survival game in the works, set in a new IP for PC/Console. It’s going to be amazing, and we’d love to bring you along for the ride.

Together, we’ll build something big, bold, and beautiful.

Your Mission

As the Lead Gameplay Systems Designer, you will expand our best-in-class moment-to-moment gameplay to also include a host of non-combat survival experiences, both through the leadership of a focused team and through direct involvement in prototyping and iteration of first-person gameplay.

What does it mean to implement Blizzard-grade tree chopping? Why is that fun for ten thousand hours? How can players be expressive in their choice of how to approach that interaction?

If those questions spark your curiosity and suit your abilities, you're an excellent fit for this role.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work from home.

The potential home studios for this role are Irvine, CA, Albany, NY, or Austin, TX.

What you bring to the table:

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

Delivering outstanding gameplay using well-established 3C’s and game-feel skills paired with deep expertise in systems design.
Creating deep repeatable interactions that are simple to learn and fun to master.
Predicting and mitigating consequences of interacting system designs
Collaborating deeply with Activities, Encounters, and World design, ensuring the gameplay you deliver provides them with a rich possibility space to create player-focused experiences.
Partnering with Progression and Crafting design teams to ensure the journey players take to acquire and expand access to your gameplay is rewarding and fits within the overall game economy.
Driving one or more cross-disciplinary working groups with clear goals, holding implementation of sophisticated systems accountable to a core vision with kindness and candor.
Cultivating the skills of those working with you, constantly finding opportunities to help them improve their craft.

Minimum Requirements

5+ years of experience in a system design or gameplay design role
1+ years of experience as a people manager
Experience pitching design concepts to project stakeholders
Experience guiding cross-discipline teams in feature development
Experience with AAA game engines such as Unreal, Unity, CryEngine, or Source
Embracing Blizzard's core value of "Every voice matters," creating a safe space for collaboration, communication, and creativity across all subject areas and departments

Extra Points

Familiarity with programming and scripting languages such as C++, C#,
Blueprint, Lua, or JavaScript
A background in math, combat design, content design, live ops, or tools
development
Strong documentation philosophies and strategies to evangelize your designs
Playing a variety of video game genres and titles.
A desire to make the best tree chopping in the survival genre

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 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 accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

Our World

At Blizzard Entertainment, we pour our hearts and souls into everything we create. Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, we’ve been creating genre-defining games for millions of players around the world for more than 30 years. We’re on a quest: bring our dreams to life and craft the most epic entertainment experiences…ever. Hard work, iteration, and polish go into the Blizzard “secret recipe,” but the most important ingredients come from talented people who share our vision. If that sounds like you, join us.

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

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.

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 $97,200.00 - $179,900.00 Annual. This base pay range is for the U.S. and is not applicable to locations outside of the U.S. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed.