Senior Systems Designer (Games) - Remote
17 hours ago
San Jose
Who We Are We are Skybound. We love creators. We love fans. We love thrilling games, indelible images and moving stories. Our roots are in comics, but our brands extend to video games, television, movies, merchandise, and live experiences. We take special pride in original tales, fresh characters, and diverse voices. From well-known franchises to freshly-minted originals, we offer the chance to join brilliant creators shaping a new generation of entertainment in a concentrated, agile environment where every perspective matters, and any idea can create a breakthrough. Opportunity Skybound is looking for an experienced and passionate Senior Systems Designer to help build a thrilling new game franchise. The Senior Systems Designers create rewarding loops that help players set goals, progress, and stay engaged over multiple play sessions. They craft and tune player advancement and rewards across the entire game. You will collaborate closely with the Game Director, department leads, and cross-disciplinary teams to define and drive the strategic vision for player progression and meta systems. You’ll mentor other designers, establish best practices, and ensure the systems design team delivers high-quality, scalable solutions that support both gameplay and business goals. If you're passionate about building compelling systems, love mentoring others, and thrive in a creative, combat-focused environment, we’d love to hear from you. Reports: This position will report to Game Director. Responsibilities: Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: • Lead the vision and execution of player progression, meta systems, and engagement loops across single and multiplayer experiences., • Define and drive KPIs for progression systems that align with player satisfaction and business goals., • Mentor and guide systems designers, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation., • Own major feature areas from concept through implementation, ensuring quality and consistency across the game., • Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, art, UX, and production to ensure systems are well-integrated and technically feasible., • Establish and evangelize best practices for systems design, documentation, and tool usage., • Anticipate and resolve design challenges, proactively improving workflows and pipelines., • Playtest and iterate on systems regularly, using data and player feedback to refine and optimize. Requirements • 10+ years of experience in the games industry, with a focus on systems design and progression., • Proven leadership experience, including mentoring designers and leading cross-functional initiatives., • Shipped at least one AAA title with significant ownership of progression or meta systems., • Deep understanding of player psychology, engagement strategies, and content pacing., • Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate complex systems into clear, actionable designs., • Experience collaborating with engineering on tool development and pipeline optimization., • Excellent communication and documentation skills, with fluency in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Visio, etc., • Strategic mindset, balancing creative vision with technical and business constraints. Preferred Qualifications • Experience with Unreal Engine, including scripting and integration into production pipelines., • Strong technical scripting skills and a willingness to learn new tools and technologies., • Passion for combat-oriented games, player progression, and Skybound’s unique properties. Job Type: Regular, Full-Time Salary Range: $125,000 - $165,000 • Actual base salary is dependent on several factors including but not limited to: market dynamics, location and region, experience, specialized skills/training (education), level of responsibility, budgetary considerations, tenure at the company (for current employees), etc., • The salary range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees, • Compensation decisions are dependent on circumstances of each role Skybound offers a wide array of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, as well as free counseling through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). We also offer a 401K plan with 4% match, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, generous time off, wellness benefits, and tuition reimbursement. Company Overview Skybound is a multiplatform content company working closely with creators and their intellectual properties, extending stories and universes to new platforms, including comics, television, film, tabletop and video games, books, digital content, events, and beyond. We are home to critically-acclaimed global franchises, including The Walking Dead and Invincible. Skybound Games produces, publishes and distributes video and tabletop games across all genres, including the multi-million-unit selling The Walking Dead video game series. In addition to our wholly-owned franchises, we work with independent developers to foster and create original games with compelling characters and worlds, strong creator and artistic focus, and innovative approaches to engaging genres. Invincible is one of Skybound's tentpole franchises (celebrating 20 years!) and spans the world of comic books, merchandise, video games, and the critically acclaimed adult animated television series on Prime Video. Now in its second season, the television show has consistently ranked as one of Prime Videos top-streamed series with a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on the groundbreaking comic book by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, Invincible revolves around 18-year-old Mark Grayson, who’s just like every other guy his age—except his father is (or was) the most powerful superhero on the planet. Still reeling from Nolan’s betrayal in Season One, Mark struggles to rebuild his life as he faces a host of new threats, all while battling his greatest fear - that he might become his father without even knowing it. The show stars Steven Yeun, with Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Grey Griffin, Chris Diamantopoulos, Walton Goggins, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Kevin Michael Richardson, Seth Rogen, and J.K. Simmons. Executive producers include Skybound's own Kirkman, David Alpert, and Margaret M. Dean. Equal Opportunity Employer At Skybound we value diversity and are looking for extraordinary employees of all backgrounds! Skybound is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship, age, genetic information, disability, hair texture or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, Skybound complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination. Skybound will consider applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the CA Fair Chance Act and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For more information on our Privacy Policy, visit: