Lead Technical Designer

Job Description

Why PlayStation?

***This position has the flexibility to be fully remote***

Lead Technical Designer

Sony Bend Studio, renowned creator of Days Gone, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and Syphon Filter, is seeking outstanding talent to join our passionate and creative family in crafting our next high-profile AAA console title.

We are seeking a hands-on Lead Technical Designer that is also comfortable managing and mentoring a team of technical game designers to develop our next AAA game.

This is a key role on our project that provides the
opportunity to make a major impact on both the project and our Technical Game Design department through both leadership and technical skills.

As our Lead Technical Designer, you will both own and contribute to various game designs, create in-engine gameplay and feature prototypes, create scripts, gameplay-oriented tools, workflows, and pipelines used by our entire game design team, and mentor and manage the project's other technical designers.
Our Lead Technical Designer must also possess the ability to lead and mentor their team as well as collaborate with a wide range of development team members outside of your direct discipline such as Directors, Artists, Animators, Audio, Producers, and Programmers to define and direct the design and implementation of desired tools, processes, features, and game play efficiently and at a high level of quality.

Responsibilities:
• ​​Be a passionate leader and mentor within the design group to ensure all our gameplay and game systems hit PlayStation's high-quality bar to provide a world class experience to our players.
• Responsibilities include using C++ to prototype gameplay, writing technical design documents as needed, the final game play implementation according to defined quality standards, conceptual designs, development pipelines, technical parameters, and production goals.
• ​ Able to self-organize and manage your time is also critical as this role is a mixture of hands-on development and management responsibilities
• Achieve a high velocity with the Technical Design Department, resolve any blockers, and provide resources to the team as required.
• ​ Help establish, create, maintain and guide gameplay-oriented systems, pipelines, content and workflow solutions, gameplay-related design features by using a combination of code and script-based solutions, written technical documents, tutorials, visual designs, and verbal communication.
• Ensure your team adheres to coding standards set forth by the engineering department and oversee the code development process to ensure quality for the internal development team.
• Own, drive and delegate technical gameplay features and systems during pre-production, production, and final polish.
• Discover, define, and share information, as well as best practices across the team.
• ​ Assist the Design Leads in identifying and creating techniques, structures and tools used to guide and encourage the evolution of game design within the studio, to improve quality and or efficiency.
• Organize regular updates and presentations to stakeholders, directors, and team members.
• Review design implementations for quality, technical soundness, and adherence to script and code standards.
• Be a mentor to the Technical Design Team and uphold core studio values.
• Help define and manage the career path of the Technical Design Team.
• Work with production to establish, schedule and communicate short- and long-term goals for the Technical Design Team.
• ​ Guide the Technical Design Team through the development process starting with ideation, prototyping, development, finalizing, and post launch game support.
• Work with the production team to manage tasks and resource distribution.
• Cultivate a culture of learning and support education and skill development of the team.​

Requirements/Education:
• Experience in at least one AAA Game Engine.
• Experience successfully managing and mentoring others.
• Game Design process knowledge including (but not limited to) story and character design, level design, AI design, player control, user interface, pacing, etc.
• Understanding of the technical aspects of product development and its relationships to game design.
• Advanced knowledge of C style programming and scripting languages (e.g., C#, Python, C, C++) preferred.
• Basic understanding of computer design and architecture and experience optimizing script and code for performance and memory.
• Good error checking and debugging skills to help identify problems and bugs and ensure the assigned design implementation tasks are always working.
• Possess working knowledge of Maya (or similar 3D package), engine tools and processes.
• The ability to communicate effectively with engineering and the design group on an individual basis, or within a group setting.
• Great time management skills with the ability to break down assignments and prioritize them into workable tasks on a daily, weekly, and project length basis.
• Able to manage long-term projects, creating and following a comprehensive schedule for the creation of gameplay mechanics, game systems, tools, etc.
• Experience working with custom game development tools and related commercial software.
• Familiar with Lean, Agile, and Scrum Methodologies as it pertains to game development.
• Experience with using version control systems such as Perforce, Git or Subversion.
• Knowledge of mathematics that pertain to game development (Vector, Geometry, Calculus and Newtonian Physics)
• 5+ years of experience in a game production environment.

# LI-DL2

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role's base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for SIE's top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package. Click here to learn more.

This is a flexible role that can be remote, with varying pay ranges based on geographic location. For example, if you are based out of Seattle, the estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$125,500 - $188,300 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

For more information about our benefits, please visit our Careers site.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d8q65m-3-146-255-127-42 in your application.