Senior Combat Designer

Cloud Chamber is looking for an avid Senior Combat Designer to join our team to create innovative AI characters and combat gameplay. You are collaborative by nature and excited to share your design ethos, experience, and ideas freely with the team. At Cloud Chamber we encourage our developers to DARE TO BE ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE. We want you to be exhilarated by what you do. We want you to push boundaries and engage in visionary experiments to create the novel, ground-breaking gameplay experiences that make a BioShock game truly a BioShock game. 

Job Duties

• Work with Leads, the Design Director, and the design team to craft immersive encounters throughout the game.
• Act as the primary owner of combat and AI implementation in cross-disciplinary pods.
• Develop working prototypes of AI and combat scenarios.
• Communicate progress, workflows and availability of AI and combat standards to content developers.
• Maintain and tune assigned combat AI behavior and parameters through to project completion.
• Create detailed and easy to follow design documentation.
• Expand and build on the ideas of player expression and emergent design experiences.
• Use your creativity to execute on design goals and solve design challenges that push our games forward.
• Participate in brainstorming sessions, refine and execute on ideas within a schedule.
• Collaborate with cross disciplinary teams to execute on design implementation and problem solving.
• Work with a team of designers entrusted with implementing combat gameplay content in an immersive sandbox world. 
• Help solidify best practices and workflows conducive to consistency and deliverability of game content within your team.
• Participate in the cross-pollination of ideas and sharing of knowledge amongst content creators. 
• Collaborate with other developers to build an FPS combat paradigm that is accessible, satisfying, and allows for a high degree of player expression and experimentation within a highly reactive world.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• Shipped at least one AAA title as a designer responsible for encounter design. OR, Shipped at least one AAA title as a combat designer.
• 5+ years professional experience in video game design.
• Proven experience in executing an idea from concept to ship.
• Knowledge of current game trends in technology.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience working with a variety of established game toolsets.
• Deep understanding of game mechanics, combat systems, and AI NPC design.
• Fluent with game development tools, and experience with pipelines, standards and workflows.
• Experience working in a collaborative environment with cross disciplinary groups.
• Strong presentation skills.
• Current knowledge of gaming industry development landscape, technology and tools.
• Understanding of how AI, tactical space, and player verbs combine to create magic in both scripted and unscripted settings.
• Extensive knowledge of behavior trees in Unreal Engine 5.
• In-depth knowledge of industry standard AI, progression systems, and player mechanics features.
• A desire to work in a closely collaborative environment, a positive force multiplier with a great team-player attitude. 
• Self-motivated, proactive, and solutions oriented.
• Intermediate level problem solving skills.
• Ability to partner with a diverse group of personalities effectively and constructively.
• Flexible and collaborative mindset and attitude.
• Uncompromising ethics and unwavering integrity.
• Willing to uphold the values of Cloud Chamber.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees we only use 2K.com accounts.

This is a fully remote role that may be based anywhere in the United States. Below are the expected salary and wage ranges for applicants based in locations where the pay transparency law is in effect:

Colorado: $70,000 and $130,000 per year
California: $90,000 and $140,000 per year
New York State (inclusive of New York City): $90,000 and $140,000 per year
Washington: $70,000 and $130,000 per year

Base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan, in addition to a full range of medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees will also receive 14 paid holidays per calendar year, are eligible to earn a minimum of 15 days of vacation leave per year (subject to proration based on start date during the calendar year) and will receive 10 sick days per calendar year. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an "at-will position" and the company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

#LI-Hybrid

For candidates located in Quebec:

• Proficiency in French is required.
• Proficiency in English is required to effectively collaborate with teams based in the United States

We are Cloud Chamber: a collaborative team of inspired minds who create games together. We strive to  make unique, entertaining, and thoughtful game experiences that engage the world.  

We believe in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of  our thinking. Our focus on open communication and overall well-being allows each of us to strive for  excellence in our work, and happiness in our lives.

We’re currently making the next BioShock. Our passion and love for this iconic franchise is what brought  us together. The thrill and responsibility of creating the next iteration of such a beloved game is what  keeps us going. 

If all of this sounds as exciting to you as it is to us we’d love to meet you! Join us in creating worlds that  move people.