Senior Game Designer

Next Level Games, a Nintendo subsidiary, is seeking a Senior Game Designer to create high-quality, fun gameplay experiences. This role involves collaborating with directors, engineers, and artists, championing the project's design direction, and taking ownership of core game features from conception to completion. The designer will contribute to a highly iterative and collaborative environment, sharing expertise to foster team growth and continuous improvement in development processes.

Must Have

• Create carefully crafted gameplay moments
• Work closely with the Game Director to understand design direction
• Clearly present design ideas to multiple disciplines
• Design inclination to simplicity and clarity
• Take ownership of designs and core game features
• Drive features through all development phases
• Foster a highly iterative and collaborative environment
• Lead by example and share expertise
• Contribute to continuous improvement of tools and processes
• Shipped 1+ games, preferably with console experience
• Experience in all phases of game development
• Strong desire to solve hard design problems
• Willingness to be proactive to coordinate with other departments
• High proficiency in Programming or Scripting
• Experience scripting gameplay moments and enemy encounters
• Strong layout skills with understanding of 3D spaces
• Proficiency in 3D Layout programs (Maya, Unreal, Unity, etc.)
• Experience designing and building levels for level-based games

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive annual leave and benefits
• Discretionary performance bonus program
• Health coverage
• Support for mental health, financial well-being, legal assistance through EAP
• Access to in-studio gym
• Extensive media library (games and books)
• Join a committee (board games, sports, etc.)
• Discounted shopping for Nintendo products and merchandise
• Workplace that values inclusivity and encourages continuous growth
• Chance to be part of Nintendo, creating award-winning games

WHO WE ARE:

Next Level Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd. We’ve been passionate about video game development for 20 years now, shipping award-winning games for fans across the world and still going strong. Some of our titles include Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, Punch-Out!!, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Metroid Prime Federation Force, Luigi’s Mansion 3 and most recently Mario Strikers™: Battle League. At NLG, we believe that a project finds success when we collaborate. Therefore, we place careful consideration to build an environment where everyone feels welcome and has fun in the process of achieving our shared goals.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING:

We are looking for a Senior Game Designer to join our team at Next Level Games. In this role, you will learn and champion the Nintendo philosophy of game development, focused on creating high-quality experiences. You will work with directors, designers, engineers, and artists to deliver games that put smiles on the faces of people around the world.

• Create carefully crafted gameplay moments that guide our players through fun experiences
• Work closely with the Game Director to understand the project’s design direction and champion it through your designs
• Strong communication skills and the ability to clearly present design ideas to multiple disciplines
• Design inclination to simplicity and clarity
• Take ownership of your designs and core game features and work with Production to drive them forward through all development phases, from conception to completion
• Help foster a highly iterative and collaborative environment, across all disciplines
• Lead by example and share expertise to better other teammates
• Contribute to continuous improvement of our tools and development process

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Have shipped 1+ games, preferably with console experience
• Experience in all phases of game development, ideally across multiple projects/genres
• Strong desire to solve hard design problems
• Willingness to be proactive to coordinate with other departments
• High proficiency in Programming or Scripting; Experience scripting gameplay moments and enemy encounters
• Strong layout skills with a deep understanding of how 3D spaces impact gameplay and pacing
• Proficiency in 3D Layout programs (Maya, Unreal, Unity, etc.); Experience designing and building levels for level-based games

If you have a portfolio, please include a link.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE WORKING HERE:

• Competitive annual leave and benefits, including discretionary performance bonus program and health coverage
• Support for mental health, financial well-being, legal assistance and more through our Employee Assistance Program
• Access to our in-studio gym, and an extensive media library filled with games and books
• Join a committee – board games, sports, or something else – it’s all here!
• Discounted shopping for Nintendo products and merchandise at the online employee store
• A workplace that values inclusivity and encourages continuous growth
• A chance to be part of Nintendo, creating award winning games that make an impact

This is a hybrid position, requiring at least three days per week at our Vancouver studio.

The hiring range for this position is $90,000 - $135,000 CAD annually and is subject to change. The final base salary compensation will be based on factors such as skills, education, and experience.

At NLG, we know the best teams are made up of players with different skills, perspectives, and experience. We're committed to creating a workspace where everyone can contribute and feel included. If you need any accommodations during the hiring process, please contact careers@nextlevelgames.com, and we will do our best to support your needs.

We wish to thank all applicants in advance; however, only those under consideration will be contacted. We are currently only considering applicants who already have work eligibility in Canada.