Are you an experienced Lead Level Designer who loves shaping open worlds and building strong teams in early production?
We’re hiring a Lead Level Designer to define how players move through, explore, and share a large-scale MMO-style world - from macro zone structure and progression down to the flow of individual hubs, gathering spaces, and points of interest.
This is a senior, hands‑on leadership role for someone who can set creative direction, stay close to the work through blockouts and prototypes, and grow a level design team through production.
About the role
You’ll report into the Game Director and lead a growing team of level designers (currently 3, scaling to ~7). The project is in early production, meaning much of the world structure and level design pipeline is still maturing.
This role is ideal for a level design leader who enjoys building standards, defining processes, and making foundational design decisions that will support a multi‑year live‑service roadmap.
What you’ll do
People leadership and team development
- Manage and mentor a level design team as it scales through production
- Set priorities, assign work, balance workload, and run regular 1:1s
- Lead performance reviews and goal setting aligned to milestones and development plans
- Identify skill gaps and support growth through coaching, stretch assignments, and training
- Represent level design in cross‑discipline leads meetings, production planning, and resourcing
- Help shape hiring: contribute to job specs, review portfolios, and join interview loops
- Foster a culture of creative safety, ownership, and constructive critique
Level design and world building
- Own the creative vision for world layout, zones, hubs, and points of interest
- Set the bar for spatial composition, navigation flow, vertical gameplay, and environmental storytelling
- Design spaces that support exploration, combat, questing, and social interaction
- Build hubs and gathering spaces that feel alive at different population levels
- Stay hands‑on with blockouts and prototypes in Unreal Engine
- Collaborate with quest and narrative teams to integrate authored content, emergent encounters, and social spaces
- Design for MMO realities: player density, zone streaming, loading boundaries, spawn flow, and performance targets
- Ensure the world structure supports long‑term expansion, seasonal events, and live‑service updates
Pipeline and production
- Build and mature the level design pipeline from blockout through final handoff
- Define best practices, handoff specs, and quality criteria where needed
- Partner with production on scoping, schedules, sprint planning, and capacity forecasting
- Use playtests and player behaviour insights to iterate on pacing, navigation, encounter density, and readability
What we’re looking for
- 7+ years in game development, including at least one shipped title in level design or world building
- 3+ years of direct people management experience (1:1s, performance reviews, coaching, goal setting)
- 2+ years designing for MMOs, persistent online worlds, or live‑service games
- Strong portfolio showing 3D level design, player flow, spatial composition, and verticality
- Proficiency with Unreal Engine (or comparable tools) for blockout and in‑engine world construction
- Strong cross‑discipline collaboration skills (environment art, narrative, quest design, technical art)
- Excellent communication and documentation habits, especially in remote environments
Nice to have
- Experience shipping an MMO or persistent online world through launch and live operations
- Open‑world single‑player or co‑op level design experience
- Scripting or visual scripting experience for gameplay prototyping and triggers
- Awareness of accessibility considerations in spatial design
Why this role
- You’ll shape the foundations of a new MMO‑style world in early production
- High ownership and real creative influence across the full open‑world experience
- Remote‑first culture with autonomy and trust
- A chance to build and lead a team that will define the game’s world for years
If you’re a level design leader who enjoys building worlds, mentoring designers, and shaping the standards that define a project long‑term, we’d love to hear from you.Apply now, or email Jack Baxter - jb@skillsearch.com
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