Senior / Principal Combat Designer

The Molasses Flood is a CD PROJEKT game development studio located in the greater Boston area. We were founded by industry veterans in 2014, and since then have created The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. We’re currently working on an ambitious and exciting new project set in The Witcher universe. We value every voice on the team, open communication and transparency, and run a studio based on mutual respect and kindness between all members and levels of the team. If this sounds like the type of team you’d like to be a part of, we encourage you to apply.

The Molasses Flood is looking for a Senior or Principal Combat Designer to help drive the vision and implementation of the combat experience in our latest project, a multiplayer action game set within the world of The Witcher. You will take on everything from the high-level — pitching enemy and weapon types — to the sub-second nitty-gritty — placing I-Frames, damage volumes, damage and hit reaction balancing, etc.. You will work across disciplines, from art and animation to engineering and production, to make our game’s combat fun, satisfying, and scalable from the early game to the late.

The person in this role will report to the Lead Gameplay Designer. This role may be performed per our hybrid work model in the greater Boston area (Tues/Thurs in our office and Mon/Wed/Fri work from home), with relocation assistance available. This role could also be performed remotely within the continental US and Canada, and according to US East coast core hours. Benefits and salary available varies by country. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and refine our approach to combat and foundational combat systems.

• Pitch, prototype, implement, and continually balance and improve a wide variety of enemy types, including core enemies and bosses, to shipping.

• Tune the combat experience at the micro level: animation length, i-frames, damage volumes, etc.

• Implement each character type’s combat behavior using techniques such as behavior trees, animation graphics, and blueprints.

• Help to define and develop internal workflows and development tools for AI behavior and attack patterns.

• Work with character art, animation, VFX, and Audio to ship characters with best-in-class presentation and polish.

• Help balance combat-related systems such as player leveling and experience, weapons, and damage.

• Produce and maintain design documentation and work with Production to ensure they can be implemented with time and resources available.

• Keep in constant communication with the team to solicit feedback and constantly hone your work.

• Prior experience as a Gameplay or Combat Designer on a shipped game.

• Extensive knowledge of current game titles, as well as movies and other visual arts, to use as reference for crafting and communicating original ideas.

• The ability to communicate fluently with engineering, art, and production.

• Curiosity, kindness, and a positive and professional can-do attitude.

• Candidates must have a US work permit or citizenship, or Canadian citizenship.

NICE TO HAVES:

• Experience as a combat designer on a systems-heavy action game.

• Experience as a designer on a multiplayer action game.

• Any kind of scripting experience, be it visual (such as Blueprint) or text-based (such as Python, Lua, or C#).

• Experience with Unreal Engine 4-5.

The expected annual salary range for this position is $130,000 to $180,000 USD, negotiable, for US hires. Salary offered will be based upon a number of factors, including but not limited to: skill set, years and quality of experience, and suitability for the role. 

What we offer:

• 100% company paid medical, dental, and vision plans available - for employees and dependents
• 401K with matching
• Company paid long & short term disability plans, and life insurance
• Profit sharing plan
• Unlimited PTO and flexible schedule
• Environmental company paid offset of employees’ carbon footprint via Wren.co
• Positions worked in office are hybrid: M/W/F work from home & T/Th work in office, with lunch provided on the in office days
• Dog friendly office
• Many opportunities for advancement as our team grows and takes on new challenges 

The Molasses Flood is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to embracing and celebrating diverse thoughts and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment at The Molasses Flood is based on ability  – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decisions, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

CA Candidates: TMF abides by all policies set forth in the CCPA/CPRA.  For more information, please contact HR or visit the California Privacy Protection Agency website: https://cppa.ca.gov/

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.