Senior Systems Designer

7 Hours ago • 4 Years + • Game Design

About the job

Summary

Electronic Arts' PopCap studio seeks a Senior Systems Designer to create and develop engaging social systems and gameplay for Plants vs. Zombies. This role involves 50% individual contribution and 50% team management, requiring experience with live mobile games, especially social systems and hybrid-casual gameplay. Responsibilities include designing content and features, collaborating with other disciplines, prototyping and playtesting, and leading a team of designers. Candidates must demonstrate a strong understanding of game design principles, player compulsion, and data-driven design, along with excellent communication and leadership skills. Experience with Unity, Perforce, and scripting is preferred.
Must have:
  • 4+ years game design experience
  • Mobile game design experience
  • Social systems and hybrid-casual gameplay experience
  • Strong understanding of game design principles
  • Team leadership and mentorship skills
  • Data-driven design approach
Good to have:
  • Unity, Perforce, and scripting experience
  • Plants vs. Zombies familiarity
Perks:
  • Paid time off
  • Sick time
  • Company holidays
  • Paid parental leave
  • Medical/dental/vision insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Disability insurance
  • 401(k) or retirement plan
  • Bonus and equity (potential)
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We are a global team of creators, storytellers, technologists, experience originators, innovators and so much more. We believe amazing games and experiences start with teams as diverse as the players and communities we serve. At Electronic Arts, the only limit is your imagination.

WE WANT YOUR BRAINS… PopCap is looking for brainy and skillful people with a passion for making the world’s best games. What’s in it for you? A super-fun environment, rewarding work, and lots of great perks. It takes big, delicious brains to make award-winning titles like Plants vs. Zombies that delight millions of players around the world every day. Are you up for the challenge?

As a Senior Game Designer reporting to the Design Director, you will set the bar for the quality creation of content and features, ensuring your work aligns with business and design goals with unwavering attention to theme, quality, and the needs of our players. In this role, you will be spending roughly 50% of your time on Individual Contributor work and 50% on managing designers.

You must have experience working on a live, mobile game, with preference being given to those with experience working on Social Systems and Hybrid-Casual Gameplay. You will demonstrate a solid understanding of games and player compulsion, and will be well-versed in games of all types and genres. You are a Plants vs Zombies fan with a history of creating quality, thematic content and features. You are curious, creative, collaborative by nature, and have a preference for using telemetry to validate your design thinking. Additionally, you are an advocate of design culture and thinking who excels in a multidisciplinary environment with experience in managing a team of dedicated individuals.

Come work at an amazing studio and share your passion for Plants vs Zombies with the world!

Responsibilities

  • Create and develop accessible and deep Social Systems and Gameplay for players.

  • Partner with other disciplines to ensure your content and features are delivered to the highest quality.

  • Develop ideas for content, gameplay, and progression systems throughout the player life-cycle.

  • Partner with Production and Product Management to build creative solutions to solve our most challenging business needs and, overall, to delight our players.

  • Quickly prototype design ideas in-game and iterate through playtesting.

  • Partner with other disciplines to ensure game design and player engagement targets are considered.

  • Lead a team of one or more designers.

  • Mentoring other game designers.

Qualifications

  • Have 4+ years of relevant game design experience.

  • Are an active player of mobile games, both casual and core alike.

  • Designed and developed major game systems and content for at least one shipped mobile title.

  • Creatively, analytically, and organizationally skilled with proven ability to write, communicate, and maintain detailed design documentation throughout the game life cycle.

  • Demonstrative proof of an open-minded, upbeat, progressive thinker who is flexible, energetic, and driven with the ability to overcome obstacles and challenges with working solutions.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

  • Unity, Perforce, and scripting experience preferred.

Recently, we’ve also developed a strong work-from-home process and are sensitive to the safety and well-being of our team. This opens up new opportunities, at least in the short term, for employees to work remotely.

Ceci ne s’applique pas au Québec.

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

  • California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento)

    • $122,400 - $176,300 USD

  • Colorado (depending on location e.g. Denver vs. Colorado Springs)

    • $131,000 - $174,800 USD

  • Jersey City, NJ

    • $142,000 - $176,300 USD

  • New York (depending on location e.g. Manhattan vs. Buffalo)

    • $115,700 - $176,300 USD

  • Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane)

    • $115,700 - $163,100 USD

Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity. For 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.

View Full Job Description
$115.7K - $176.3K/yr (Outscal est.)
$146.0K/yr avg.
British Columbia, Canada

About The Company

We exist to inspire the world to play. We put our people first, and we thrive off their diversity in our innovative technology and immersive storytelling. We’re doing the work to give everyone the space to be their full selves while giving back to our community, no matter where you’re working from. We’re looking for problem-solvers, game-changers, innovators, dreamers, doers—people that are ready to move the needle and transform the future of gaming. Join us.

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