Job Description
- Experience with early-stage development or prototype teams.
- Background in narrative design, systems design, or level design.
- Experience with social or systemic gameplay features.
- Interest in film, serialized storytelling, or transmedia world-building.
- Define and drive gameplay vision, player experience, and interactions.
- Lead and direct tasks, game systems, and game choices.
- Implement in-engine game assets and systems.
- Translate narrative and world-building concepts into interactive systems and mechanics.
- Collaborate with artists, engineers, and narrative designers.
- Align project goals, timelines, and scope with leadership.
- Oversee design documentation and presentations.
- Lead playtesting efforts, gather feedback, and iterate.
- Establish creative tone, pacing, and emotional engagement of the player experience.
- 7+ years of professional game design experience.
- At least one shipped title in a design leadership or senior designer role.
- Deep experience designing gameplay systems that connect to narrative or emotional themes.
- Strong grasp of player agency, camera, controls, and game feel.
- Proficient in Unreal Engine (UE5 preferred), including Blueprints and prototyping workflows.
- Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines and lead by example.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
About the Company:
Founded in 2017 by visionary directors Anthony and Joe Russo, AGBO is an artist-led, Academy Award–winning independent studio redefining global storytelling across film, television, and gaming. With 15 #1 openings and more than $7 billion at the box office, its hits include Marvel’s highest-grossing film *Avengers: Endgame*, the multi-Oscar-winning *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, and Netflix blockbusters *The Gray Man* and *Extraction*. AGBO’s *Citadel* universe has become a worldwide Prime Video sensation, while recent projects in post-production, include *The Bluff* (Amazon MGM) and *The Whisper Man* (Netflix). Upcoming releases include *Citadel* Season 2 and Marvel Studios’ epic *Avengers: Doomsday* (2026) and *Avengers: Secret Wars* (2027), both directed by the Russo Brothers and produced by AGBO.
In 2023, AGBO welcomed Donald Mustard—former Chief Creative Officer at Epic Games and co-creator of *Fortnite*—as a partner. Mustard brings a bold creative vision to AGBO: to expand what storytelling can be through immersive, interconnected worlds that span across media. We’re building the future of storytelling—and we’re looking for bold, creative minds to help shape it. If you’re ready to help define what comes next, we’d love to meet you.
Position Summary:
As Lead Designer, you’ll take ownership of the design vision and systems for one of AGBO’s interactive projects. You’ll work closely with studio leadership and our multidisciplinary team to build a compelling gameplay experience from the ground up. This is a unique opportunity to shape a playable prototype that pushes creative boundaries and reflects the emotional depth, cinematic ambition, and world-building excellence AGBO is known for.
This role is based in Raleigh, NC, and candidates located in or willing to relocate to the area are highly preferred, as close collaboration with our technical and creative teams is central to the position.
Key Responsibilities:
- Define and drive the gameplay vision, player experience, and moment-to-moment interactions for the project.
- Day to day leadership and direction setting on tasks, game systems, and game choices.
- Implementation of in-engine game assets and game systems.
- Translate narrative and world-building concepts into interactive systems and mechanics.
- Work closely with artists, engineers, and narrative designers to ensure cohesion between gameplay, story, and visual direction.
- Collaborate with leadership to align project goals, timelines, and scope.
- Oversee documentation and presentation of design work, ensuring clarity and usability across teams.
- Lead playtesting efforts, gather feedback, and iterate based on both player response and internal collaboration.
- Help establish the creative tone, pacing, and emotional engagement of the player experience.
Qualifications & Skills:
- 7+ years of professional game design experience, including ownership of core systems or gameplay pillars.
- At least one shipped title in a design leadership or senior designer role.
- Deep experience designing gameplay systems that connect to narrative or emotional themes.
- Strong grasp of player agency, camera, controls, and game feel.
- Proficient in Unreal Engine (UE5 preferred), including Blueprints and prototyping workflows.
- Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines and lead by example.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Passion for cinematic storytelling, genre experimentation, and building from zero
Bonus Skills:
- Experience with early-stage development or prototype teams.
- Background in narrative design, systems design, or level design.
- Experience with social or systemic gameplay features.
- Interest in film, serialized storytelling, or transmedia world-building.
AGBO Labs LLC is committed to operating fair and unbiased recruitment procedures allowing all applicants an equal opportunity for employment, free from discrimination on the basis of religion, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, color, ethnic or national origin or any other classification as may be protected by applicable law. We aim to recruit the right people for the jobs we have to offer, and to assess applications on the basis of relevant skills, education and experience.
AGBO participates in E-Verify - English | Spanish
The job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent to this position.
