Senior Game Designer

EA SPORTS is one of the most iconic brands in entertainment, connecting millions around the world to the sports they love through a portfolio of industry-leading video games.

The EA SPORTS FC Ultimate Team franchise is the cornerstone of our football gaming experience, engaging millions of players worldwide. Ultimate Team offers unmatched depth, strategy, and personalization through dynamic game modes and innovative player progression systems, setting the standard for live sports gaming.

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, the EA SPORTS FC Ultimate Team is committed to pushing the boundaries of what a football game can be. If you're an expert in your craft and passionate about delivering immersive, player-first experiences in progression systems and game modes, this is a career-defining opportunity.

As a Senior Game Designer for Ultimate Team, you will be designing engaging game modes, competitive, progression and collection systems that will impact the lives of millions of players.

You will report to the Game Design Director and collaborate with product owners, engineers, interface designers, and other game designers to shape the future of Ultimate Team. In this role, you will set the bar for world class design quality, establishing yourself as a leader on the design team. You will mentor and inspire your peers and less experienced designers, ensuring that every feature aligns with the Ultimate Team vision. You will have the opportunity to impact our Live Service, +1 Features, Future Explorations, and the Companion Application.

Your Responsibilities

• Lead the Design of Game Modes & Progression Systems: Create and improve innovative game modes and player progression systems that deliver deep and engaging experiences.

• Expert at Competitive Ecosystems: A proven track record designing competitive systems that can engage players for the entire cycle, rewarding mastery and skill.

• Live Service Mentality: You know how to create systems that can stand the test of time, and keep our game interesting all year.

• Craft Mastery: Set the bar for excellence in game design. Deliver player-first experiences with creativity, precision, and attention to detail that stands out within the industry. From paper, to excel, to game engine, you utilize tools that can help sell your solutions.

• Mentorship & Leadership: You are responsible for elevating the Design Team, 75% of your time will be spent as an individual contributor, 25% of your time you will be reviewing the work of other designers. Provide guidance and mentorship to less experienced designers, fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and constant improvement.

• Innovate & Iterate: Leverage market insights, player feedback, your own experiences and data analytics to identify opportunities for innovation in game modes, progression, competitive and collection systems. You are expected to pitch and drive features to leadership.

• Partner with Production Leads: Collaborate with production leadership to ensure feature quality and scope align with development timelines and goals.

Your Qualifications

• Expert in Craft: Minimum 7 years of experience designing AAA games, with at least 3 years as a mentor or lead design role. Proven expertise in designing shipped complex game modes and player progression systems for Competitive Games and Live Service games.

• Game Mode and Progression Expertise: A deep understanding of live service game models, player retention mechanics, and progression systems, within live service games.

• Ownership and Accountability: A track record of taking full ownership of major design systems, from conceptualization through to implementation, and delivering exceptional results.

• Communication Excellence: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex design concepts clearly and effectively to technical and non-technical audiences.

Ideal Candidate:

• An expert in game design who thrives on creating innovative and engaging systems

• A natural leader with a deep passion for mentoring and developing talent within the team.

• A highly skilled designer with a track record of delivering world-class work in AAA, live service, or sports games.

• Strong knowledge of soccer and the EA SPORTS™ FC video game.

• You live, breathe and eat games in your spare time, finding inspiration in unlikely places

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs).

BASE SALARY RANGES

• British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria)

  • $107,600 - $147,100 CAD

In British Columbia, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.

About Electronic Arts

We’re proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.

We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.