Game Designer, Technical — United States

About The Company

Gardens Interactive is a fully remote game development studio dedicated to creating games centered on connection, collective adventure, and emergent stories. Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that the spirit with which we build games directly influences the experiences our players enjoy. We emphasize collaboration, thoughtful iteration, and the courage to explore new ideas, fostering a culture where curiosity, resilience, ambition, and commitment to one another drive our creative process. Our flagship project is a multiplayer fantasy adventure inspired by friendships, discoveries, and unforgettable stories that emerge when people explore together. Founded by creators behind acclaimed titles such as Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Dustforce, Ashen, Guild Wars 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3, Gardens Interactive values diverse perspectives and inclusive teamwork to build magical, shared experiences that bring players together.

About The Role

We are seeking a Technical Level Designer to join our team. In this role, you will craft immersive worlds and sandboxes filled with opportunities for player interaction and exploration. As a level designer with strong technical skills, you will build gameplay features in Unreal Engine using Blueprints and/or C++. Your responsibilities include creating new gameplay verbs, activities, challenges, and environmental interactions that invite players to experiment and engage with their surroundings. You will prototype, validate, iterate, and deliver these features, then use them to build levels that encourage exploration, problem-solving, and memorable multiplayer moments.

The role involves rapid prototyping and validation of gameplay mechanics for online multiplayer, refining levels from blockout to delivery, and collaborating closely with multidisciplinary teams to ensure alignment with design direction and technical requirements. You will also be responsible for maintaining organized implementations and documenting features to facilitate team use and ongoing tuning.

Qualifications

• Strong level design fundamentals in spatial composition, flow, pacing, and player guidance for open-world exploration and multiplayer play

• At least one shipped game as a level designer on a multidisciplinary team

• Proficiency in Unreal Engine Blueprints and/or C++ with the ability to independently prototype, implement, and debug gameplay features

• Experience building levels and authoring collision and navigation in Unreal Engine

• Strong playtesting and iteration habits with an understanding of how design shapes player behavior, cooperation, and relationships

• Clear communication skills, strong collaboration, and the judgment to work independently while recognizing constraints and seeking support when needed

• Experience building reusable level design tools, modular gameplay kits, or procedural workflows in Unreal Engine (preferred)

• Experience designing systemic puzzles, physics-based interactions, or environmental features supporting multiple solutions and emergent multiplayer play (preferred)

• Experience profiling and optimizing gameplay scripts and level content (preferred)

• Legal authorization to work in the United States or Canada and willingness to work within North American time zones (EST–PST)

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, debug, polish, and maintain interactive world features and environmental gameplay toys offering new choices, challenges, and benefits

• Build levels from blockout through delivery, shaping flow, pacing, navigation, and readability across exploration, puzzles, traversal, and encounters

• Create reusable, configurable gameplay components and tools to help designers build and iterate on levels efficiently

• Rapidly prototype and playtest ideas to validate potential, refine features, and manage scope and complexity

• Collaborate across disciplines to align with design direction, integrate player abilities and creature encounters, and meet technical requirements

• Partner with Engineering to resolve performance issues and ensure reliable multiplayer behavior

• Keep implementations organized and document features and tools to enable team use, tuning, and maintenance

• Participate in playtesting sessions to understand player interactions and refine levels and features accordingly

Benefits

• Competitive salaries with pay transparency

• Stock options

• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage

• 401(k) contributions in the U.S. and RRSP + DPSP contributions in Canada

• Paid parental leave

• Fully distributed remote work environment across North American time zones

• Supportive and inclusive company culture focused on growth, collaboration, and innovation

• Reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities

Equal Opportunity

Gardens Interactive is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and fostering an inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive.