Skillsearch Limited

Compensation

Full Description

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