Lead Game Systems Designer

Summary Become the primary vision holder and hands-on contributor for all systems in an open world action-adventure game. Lead a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to deliver intuitive, deep, and novel systems that support long-term player investment and emergent fun. Responsibilities Drive the design and implementation of all game-wide systems. Establish a vision for progression, rewards, customization, economy, UX, and systems-driven content that serves the player fantasies and creative direction, then evangelize that vision to the broader team. Coordinate with gameplay, activity, mission, and open world design leads to integrate deep and diverse features into a coherent and accessible experience. Rally designers, engineers, artists, and external co-dev partners to deliver playable progress at regular intervals as part of a rapid iterative process. Incorporate feedback from peers, playtests, and senior leadership to refine, rebalance, and pivot as the game demands. Partner with community, user research, and marketing teams to develop and refine systems that drive long-term player excitement and engagement. Coordinate with quality assurance to develop longform playtests in continuous reevaluation of metagame systems. Go beyond documentation and management to lead from the trenches, with hands-on contributions to playable game systems at every level. Qualifications 5 or more years of experience designing systems for action games. Awareness of casual gamers' needs and ability to reduce barriers to entry with accessible systems and intuitive UX. Deep understanding of virtual world economies and how to design sustainably for long-term player chase and investment. Narrative sensibilities and vision to design systems that immerse players in an authored fictional world, while empowering them to forge their own emergent experiences. Recent experience with direct implementation in the form of visual scripting, balance tuning, or other individual contributions. Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills. Innovative thinker with creative problem-solving skills who thrives in a collaborative team environment. Multiplayer progression, economy, or social systems design experience is a plus. Experience designing non-combatant social NPC behavior is a plus. Experience leading multidisciplinary teams is a plus. Experience designing longform metagame testing is a plus. Experience working with co-development partners is a plus. Experience in UE4 or UE5 is a plus. Description Full time job with benefits Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA Office is located near downtown Santa Monica - near metro and freeways The base pay range for this position is $125,000 to $165,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including paid time off, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity. About Absurd Ventures Absurd Ventures is a media company creating new IP across all platforms and for all formats. Absurd Ventures is building narrative worlds, creating characters, and writing stories for a variety of genres, without regard to medium, to be produced for live-action and animation; video games and other interactive content; books, graphic novels, and scripted podcasts.