Associate Game Designer, Technical

Location: United States, Santa Monica, CA; hybrid/onsite. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

Salary: $37–$50 USD per hour.

Company

hirify.global's Naughty Dog studio develops narrative-driven, technically innovative video games, including The Last of Us series.

What you will do

• Prototype, implement, and own gameplay scenarios, narrative sequences, interactive objects, and AI behaviors.
• Conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems with the Design team.
• Collaborate with animation, programming, and art departments to produce required assets and code support.
• Iterate rapidly and polish prototypes to Naughty Dog's quality standards.

Requirements

• Significant programming ability; a Computer Science undergraduate degree is preferred.
• Knowledge of 3D math.
• Experience with C++, C#, Lua, or another scripting language.
• Broad understanding of the gaming landscape.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and able to communicate and work effectively in a team.
• Willingness to take design direction, brainstorm, iterate, and develop creative solutions.

Nice to have

• Experience developing third-person action games.
• Experience with 3D level editors.
• Understanding of narrative principles and conveying emotion through gameplay.
• Experience with Behavior Trees, melee, combat systems, character animation, or enemy and boss design.

Culture & Benefits

• Temporary engagement through staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits are available.
• Background checks are conducted at the offer stage.

Hiring process

• Candidates should expect a technical interview.