Principal/Lead Mission Designer (Campaign)

Summary As Principal/Lead Mission Designer (Campaign), you will help build and standardize the craft-quality for single-player campaign missions. You will shape critical path and side missions that deliver compelling storytelling and engaging action gameplay within an open-world setting. Combining strategic leadership with hands-on design expertise, you will pair directly with the existing mission leadership to build mission experiences in-editor along with driving the standards, systems, and creative ambition that define the missions experience. Core Responsibilities Pair with existing mission leadership to provide direction, mentorship, and constructive feedback to mission designers, helping elevate the quality of the work and the craft across the team. Partner closely with narrative leadership and other disciplines to improve the flow, structure, and execution of the main story campaign. Collaborate with senior creative and development leadership to establish priorities, resolve complex design challenges, and ensure the campaign delivers on its creative ambitions. Lead through both vision and execution, remaining hands-on with mission design and contributing directly to the playable experience. Work with minimal information to bring complex narrative concepts to life within the context of an engaging mission experience. Challenge the status quo and demonstrate understanding of where open-world mission design can change and where it’s already working. Champion innovative approaches to storytelling, gameplay, pacing, and player agency that deliver best-in-class mission design. Identify opportunities to leverage open-world systems and mechanics to create dynamic, interconnected missions that respond to player choices and actions. Work with co-development partners across multiple time zones to establish consistent standards of communication that keep the mission team aligned. Partner with production to accurately problem-solve and assess scope across a variety of missions to help mission designers succeed. Champion a culture of creative collaboration, experimentation, iteration, and continuous improvement across the mission design team. Core Qualifications 8+ years of experience in mission design, with a track record of contributing to or leading the development of high-quality AAA games. Deep expertise in mission design, including a strong understanding of mission structure, pacing, and the relationship between narrative and gameplay. Expert knowledge of action mission principles including encounter design, combatant behaviors and level design/layout requirements. Demonstrated ability to establish and communicate a creative vision, influence design direction, and drive complex work from concept through implementation. Strong understanding of storytelling and narrative design, particularly within open-world, single-player experiences. Experience providing creative direction, mentorship, and guidance to other designers, whether through formal people management or senior individual contributor leadership. Exceptional communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to build alignment across multidisciplinary teams. A strong creative point of view, paired with flexibility and judgment to evolve ideas through collaboration and iteration. Plus If... Experience leading or mentoring multidisciplinary mission design teams on AAA productions. Experience shipping multiple AAA titles, particularly story-driven, open-world games. Experience designing missions that make meaningful use of systemic gameplay and player-driven experiences. Experience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5. Experience working with external co-development partners. Experience establishing mission design workflows, best practices, and standards across a development team. 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 $160,000 to $190,000 per year. Actual compensation is ba