Serious Game Designer

Are you passionate about video games? Want to create software that makes a difference? At the Virtual Heroes Group of Applied Research Associates, our goal is to improve your safety, security, and way of life. Join us!

Our Serious Games Designer is an advocate of innovation and creativity. You will work to create, drive, and deliver the overall creative vision of software products spanning across a wide variety of subject matter topics including commercial, healthcare, and military. In this role you will lead the design team, collaborate with the development team (Design, Art, Programming, QA, and Production), as well as external clients and subject matter experts (SME’s) to conceptualize, document and implement core gameplay concepts, systems, and content across multiple projects. You will also support proposal writing and face-to-face design pitches when necessary.

The ideal candidate must be a highly experienced designer with strong design sense and a thorough understanding of games and gameplay mechanics. We are seeking a candidate that will approach design holistically and must have the ability to take complex learning objectives and embed them into functional, interactive designs.

This position is open to remote work but local candidates are preferred.

Why Work For Us?

• The opportunity to make a real impact. Virtual Heroes has been making quality serious games for fifteen years. Everyone who works here is important, from new faces to those who have worked here since the beginning. Your contribution matters—you won’t be just a number!
• Flexible, reasonable hours and a hybrid 3-day telecommuting/2 days office work schedule. We encourage all employees to have a good work/life balance. We do not believe in burning you out! We invest in our people and want you to be happy with us for the long-haul.
• Competitive salaries and outstanding benefits. We provide generous retirement contributions; medical, dental, and vision coverage; company-paid life and long-term disability insurance; and annual performance bonuses.

Serious Games Designer Responsibilities:

• Conceptualize, create, and maintain detailed game design documentation throughout the project cycle that meets design, artistic and technical requirements
• Collaborate closely with our diverse team in Raleigh, NC, to design and develop unique training experiences
• Create intuitive UI/UX for use on Mobile, PC, VR and AR projects
• Stay informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in game design to continually improve our games
• Document detailed software mechanics, software progression and interface flow
• Work with clients to define their vision while keeping projects in line with company objective and on budget
• Communicate product vision to the development team by participating in meetings, reviews, and planning
• Forecast the ramifications of decisions made during the preproduction phase while ensuring that the design vision extends throughout the development process
• Adjust design and implement changes to the game based on feedback from the development team, SMEs, and end users
• Assist in the creation of product proposals and presentations
• Inspire, motivate, and mentor team members in best practices, processes and procedures while promoting a collaborative production environment

Serious Games Designer Requirements:

• US Citizenship is required
• The nature of work (i.e. interactions with the intelligence community and DoD programs) requires eligibility to apply for and hold a US security clearance; selected applicants will undergo a security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements at the time of employment
• Bachelor’s degree 5+ years of experience in game development or a design related field, along with at least three shipped titles or products as a credited designer OR 13 years of relevant work experience in lieu of a degree
• Expertise in detailed and clear software documentation, pre-visualization, and technical writing
• Experience in iterating on game prototypes through the development life cycle to refine gameplay mechanics, balance, and ensuring product is meeting customer requirements and learning objectives
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate design ideas and concepts to team members
• Passion to explore how games and interactive technology can positively affect training and education
• Experience working in Unreal Engine 5

Serious Games Designer Preferred Skills:

• Showcase experience in creating intuitive user interfaces (UI) and engaging user experiences (UX) within Unreal 5
• Experience in Unreal 5 blueprints, scripting, and Slate UI
• Demonstrate an understanding of interactive teaching and learning methodologies, including instructional design principles
• Experience with multiplayer and mobile game systems
• Team mentoring and leadership skills
• Experience writing product proposals
• Aptitude for multitasking as well as quickly comprehending and assimilating new ideas, software, and technologies
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)
• Experience working in Agile teams, and with JIRA and Confluence
• Familiarity with Photoshop, Visio, Adobe XD/Figma

Anticipated salary range: $84,000 - $110,000. Offer may vary depending on experience and skill set.

Who is ARA?

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (aka ARA) is an employee-owned international research and engineering company. We have been providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences since 1979. ARA has over 2,112 employee owners and continues to grow rapidly. Together, our offices throughout the U.S. and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense, civil, and health technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement.

ARA also prides itself, on having a challenging culture where innovation & experimentation are the norm. The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. Employee ownership ensures you have a voice with what happens in the company. We are also very proud of our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), whose purpose is to motivate, support, and encourage professional career development for women to maximize career and professional accomplishments.

To find out more about what the Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Division has to offer, visit our website at: https://www.ara.com/benefits/

Experience

• 5 year(s): Relevant Work Experience

Education

• Bachelors or better

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)