For more than twenty years Criterion Games has entertained millions of players around the world with our award-winning games. Our experienced people have expressed their passion for phenomenal game feel, AAA audio-visual quality, and technical innovation across many beloved franchises including Burnout, Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront and Need for Speed.

We believe that healthy, engaged teams make great games, so we place enormous value on collaboration, fresh ideas, and unique perspectives. We'd love to hear yours! Crunch doesn't help make a better game. We don't do it. For the sixth year in a row, we are very proud to have been recognised by gamesindustry.biz as one of the best places to work in the UK.

We are looking for a Lead Level Designer to help us on our new and exciting endeavour to create an open world offering the player a fast, visceral and authentic experience. Reporting to the Design and Art Directors, you will lead our accomplished Level Design team, setting direction for the player experience and implement benchmark level design elements in-engine.

Responsibilities

• Use direction from the Design and Art Directors, to oversee the team implementing the game’s open world from initial concept to shippable. Following good gameplay metrics, drawing from reference and delivering visually stunning but player-first experiences
• Lead the higher level layout of the world, defining and scoping requirements and establishing detailed goals for yourself and your team to deliver the best results  
• Present designs to the wider team that relates to project direction and gameplay goals
• Promote regular playtesting and a regular review process, gathering and iterating on your designs and direction based on feedback from peers and UXR testing
• Define Level Design guidelines and best practice
• Mentor your team to grow their knowledge of level design fundamentals and constraints
• Work with the engineering and art teams to explore and test different methods for creating and laying out the world, including procedural layout tools, developing new workflows and standards
• Work with other Design Leads to help establish gameplay and driving experience goals
• Aim to ensure our world is fun and fair, authentic in appearance and viscerally exciting for the player
• Work with World Artists to refine and bring a level of believability and detail to the world while retaining the gameplay intentions
• Be a people manager for your team, working on setting goals and furthering their career

Required Qualifications

• Experience shipping AAA projects as a Senior/Lead World Builder or Level Designer with experience delivering open-worlds, which strike a balance between gameplay and authenticity
• White box and represent your gameplay visions, with an appreciation of visual design, architecture and urban planning
• Experience using a range of game world production content tools for level editing and white boxing, such as Unreal Engine, Frostbite, Maya and 3DS Max
• An appreciation and passion for racing games and experiences

#LI-Hybrid #FlexibleWork