Lead System Designer - AAA / RPG Strategy (W/M/NB)

Company Description

• Location: Saint-Mandé, France 
• Duration of work: Full-time 
• Remote or on-site: Flexible working organization to be discussed with the manager of the role, in accordance with the Ubisoft Work From Home policy - 3 days a week in our Saint-Mandé office. 

Company Description 

Ubisoft’s 19,000 team members, working across more than 30 countries around the world, are bound by a common mission to enrich players’ lives with original and memorable gaming experiences. Their dedication and talent have brought to life many acclaimed franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, Just Dance, Rainbow Six, and many more to come. Ubisoft is an equal opportunity employer that believes diverse backgrounds and perspectives are key to creating worlds where both players and teams can thrive and express themselves. If you are excited about solving game-changing challenges, cutting edge technologies and pushing the boundaries of entertainment, we invite you to join our journey and help us create the unknown. 

Job Description

In this role, you will lead and be responsible for the design, implementation, and balancing, of game loop systems and gameplay systems, down to the details, according to the Creative Director’s vision. You will also lead the system design team.

Key responsibilities

Creative Collaboration:

• Partner with the Creative Director to realize their vision for game systems and gameplay experience.
• Ensure the game systems align with the Creative Director’s intentions and expectations.

Design and Implementation:

• Lead the design, implementation, and balancing of game loop systems (progression, economy, RPG & itemization, time-limited events, daily quests) and gameplay systems (core gameplay, character classes, enemies and bosses, open world activities, difficulty tiers).
• Develop detailed design documentation from creative briefs to fully fleshed-out game loop and gameplay systems.

Team Leadership:

• Guide and mentor the system design team, ensuring alignment with design goals and quality standards.
• Provide feedback and validation on team deliveries to meet the Creative Director’s expectations.
• Set and share best practices in system design documentation, workflows, methodologies, and tooling.

Interdepartmental Collaboration:

• Work closely with content, level design, art & animation, and gameplay programming teams to ensure optimal communication and achieve the desired results.
• Ensure the systems design and game balancing adhere to constraints and provide a cohesive player experience.

Optimization and Problem-Solving:

• Demonstrate pragmatism in design decisions to prioritize and develop a live product with regular updates.
• Continuously find solutions to fix buggy features and optimize systems, advocating for necessary reworks.

Tool and Pipeline Development:

• Redefine and improve the specifications for systems configuration pipelines & tools needed by designers.
• Coordinate with the tech team to enhance these pipelines for efficient and safe data input.
• Revamp existing tools for configuring and balancing the game to improve efficiency.

Qualifications

Relevant experience, skills and knowledge

Knowledge:

• In-depth knowledge of the game industry, particularly top RPGs in the F2P & GaaS genre.
• Understanding of mobile player behaviors and the latest business model trends.

Experience:

• Experience ideally as a system designer in a leadership role. Experience in RPGs or simulation/strategy games is ideal.
• Proven experience. in leading the implementation and balancing of various game loop systems.
• Experience shipping at least one F2P and/or RPG game in a design lead role.
• Preferably, experience with MMORPG development.

Leadership and Collaboration:

• Successful experience leading a team of designers, providing organization, feedback, and validation.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to drive the implementation of the creative vision.
• Fluent in English.

Analytical and Creative Skills:

• Ability to assess and analyze design problems to construct effective design solutions.
• Creative, flexible, open to feedback, and a good team player.

Technical Skills:

• Experience with Unreal Engine is a plus.
• Knowledge of mobile platform development is a plus.

Additional Information

Ubisoft's perks (for a position based in Saint-Mandé)
💰 Profit Sharing, yearly company saving plan. 25 paid time off + 12 additional paid days off. 50% of your transportation pass is paid by the company, lunch vouchers (9€/day), healthcare for you and your family, and lots of Ubisoft additional perks. 
👶 Maternity leaves of 20 weeks, paternity/co-parental leaves of 7 weeks. 
📍 Our office is located in Saint Mandé, (Metro line 1, Saint Mandé station). Gym available in the building. Ability to work with a hybrid work arrangement according to the Ubisoft Work From Home policy.

Recruitment process 
Recruitment Process: Jonathan Lavergne > Fabricio Mombelli > Fabrice Navrez
Hiring Manager: Jonathan Lavergne 

Additional Information 
Ubisoft offers the same job opportunities to all, without any distinction of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, social status, disability, or age. Ubisoft ensures the development of an inclusive work environment which mirrors the diversity of our gamers’ community. 
The job reports to Ubisoft Mobile Games. 

Location: Saint-Mandé, France 
Duration of work: Full-time 
Remote or on-site: Flexible working organization to be discussed with the manager of the role, in accordance with the Ubisoft Work From Home policy - 3 days a week in our Saint-Mandé office. 

This role requires candidates to be based in the Paris area, and to be on-site in our Saint-Mandé office 3 days a week. This role is not eligible for relocation support.

Check out this guide to help you with your application, and learn about our actions to encourage more diversity and inclusion.