Senior Technical Designer

Naughty Dog

Sports, Games, Hobbies

Santa Monica, CA - USA

Senior Specialist / Project Manager

Hybrid

Experteer Overview

As a Combat Designer, you will design and own enemy archetypes and related gameplay systems for action‑adventure / shooter games. You will collaborate with AI programmers, animators, designers, and other disciplines to create memorable enemies and balanced combat experiences. You’ll mentor junior designers and guide cross‑team execution, including playtests and documentation. This is a role at a studio focused on innovation and narrative-driven experiences, with opportunities to influence how players engage in combat at scale.

Compensation / Benefits

medical, dental, vision
matching 401(k)
paid time off
wellness program
employee discounts for Sony products
potential bonus

Responsibilities

Design and own enemy NPC archetypes
Collaborate with AI programmers to develop NPC tech and tune AI behaviors
Work with animators on locomotion, melee, ambient behaviors, and unique abilities
Collaborate with Design to prototype, implement, and balance gameplay mechanics
Communicate with animation, programming, and art to support enemy assets and code
Write documentation to establish enemy archetype vision
Drive cross‑discipline communication and meet deadlines for enemy design and level integration
Facilitate playtesting and iterate combat systems based on feedback
Mentor junior designers and contribute to team growth

Key requirements

5+ years in combat design and/or technical design for games (action-adventure or shooter)
At least one shipped title as combat designer or similar role
Experience with behavior trees or NPC AI concepts (preferred)
Strong coding ability; Computer Science degree preferred though not required
Proficient with game engines and scripting tools (Unreal Engine, Unity; C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
Openness to feedback and a collaborative, experimental mindset
Strong communication skills including diagramming and sketching
Knowledge of modern action-adventure/shooter gameplay and narrative interplay
Attention to detail in tuning gameplay for smooth, impactful experiences
Strong leadership and mentoring skills

Welcomes feedback and embraces experimentation Effective communicator and collaborator Mentoring and leadership orientation Combat design for action-adventure/shooter NPC AI concepts, behavior trees Unreal Engine and/or Unity

Description

As a Combat Designer, you will design and own enemy archetypes and related gameplay systems for action‑adventure / shooter games. You will c…

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