At Side, we partner with some of the world's leading developers and publishers to solve complex production challenges and help bring exceptional games to life. From concept through live operations, our co-development teams work as trusted extensions of our clients' studios, contributing expertise across design, engineering, art, audio, QA, and production.
We're looking for a Design Lead or Design Director to drive design excellence across a range of high-profile co-development projects. This role is suited to an experienced design leader who combines strong creative vision with hands-on development expertise and enjoys working directly with clients, multidisciplinary teams, and production stakeholders.
The ideal candidate will bring deep experience leading design teams on Unreal Engine projects, with a background spanning gameplay design, systems design, technical design, and level design. You'll be equally comfortable defining player experiences at a high level, prototyping and validating ideas, mentoring designers, and collaborating with engineering teams to ensure successful execution.
Whether you're currently a Lead Designer ready for a broader challenge or an established Design Director looking to work across multiple projects and genres, this is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on both client outcomes and Side's growing co-development practice.
Requirements
What you will do:
- Lead the design vision and execution across co-development projects, acting as the primary design partner for both internal teams and client stakeholders.
- Drive gameplay, systems, level, and technical design initiatives from concept through delivery.
- Collaborate closely with engineering, art, production, and QA teams to create engaging, high-quality player experiences.
- Provide creative leadership, mentorship, and feedback to designers across multiple disciplines.
- Prototype, validate, and iterate on gameplay features, progression systems, level layouts, and player engagement mechanics.
- Review and improve gameplay flow, combat encounters, boss experiences, and overall game balance, with a particular focus on FPS and action-oriented experiences.
- Identify design risks early, solve complex production challenges, and ensure design quality is maintained throughout development.
What we are looking for:
- Proven experience as a Lead Designer, Principal Designer, or Design Director on shipped commercial titles.
- Deep expertise with Unreal Engine and a strong understanding of gameplay, systems, and level design.
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and working directly with clients or external development partners.
- Strong FPS design experience, with a track record of improving gameplay flow, combat encounters, progression, and player engagement.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills, with the ability to balance creative vision against production realities.
Nice to have:
- Experience developing immersive VR experiences for Meta Quest, creating compelling first-person gameplay, and improving player engagement through level flow, encounter design, progression systems, and boss experiences.
- Confident client-facing communicator, able to present design solutions, manage stakeholder expectations, and build trusted relationships with development partners.
Benefits
- Competitive Salary.
- Dynamic, multicultural and fun environment.
- You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.
- We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.
About Side
Side (formerly PTW) is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 20 studios in 14 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets.
Experience our side of life. For more information, visit www.side.inc
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