Lead Systems Designer (Economy and Engagement Focus)
Reports to: Design Lead
We are a small studio dedicated to crafting unique and high-quality interactive experiences, and we are looking for a talented Lead Systems Designer to guide and shape the holistic design of our game economy, core features, and player engagement. You’ll combine leadership with direct hands-on contributions, helping to refine the structure and our gameplay experiences while managing a small team of designers.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of systems thinking, live game design, and practical implementation with an intense player focus — someone who can lead a feature from concept to live operations as well as refine existing systems.
What you'll do here:
- Lead the design and evolution of core systems such as in-game economies (large and small), progression, rewards, and feature loops that drive long-term engagement
- Design and implement interactive features and gameplay patterns with a focus on simplicity and relatability
- Collaborate across disciplines — with engineering, art, and production — to ensure designs are holistic, feasible, and aligned with creative goals
- Analyze player data and behavior to tune economies and experiences that inspire players to return for years to come
- Mentor and manage a small number of designers, helping them grow and thrive in a collaborative environment
- Drive and evangelize best practices in systems design, economy balancing, and live feature iteration
- Help improve and extend internal design tools and pipelines to empower the full design team
You Might Be a Fit If You:
- Help improve and extend internal design tools and pipelines to empower the full design team
- Have deep experience designing and tuning systems for live games, including progression mechanics, currencies, economies, and player engagement loops
- Are skilled in both conceptual design and hands-on implementation (e.g., using scripting or prototyping tools to bring systems to life)
- Think holistically about feature ecosystems and their impact on player motivation and long-term retention
- Thrive in small, collaborative teams and are comfortable wearing multiple hats
- Have experience mentoring or managing other designers, even in a flat or hybrid leadership model
- Care deeply about the player experience and designing systems that are meaningful, ethical, and fun
- Don't mind taking an assessment/proprietary test during the interview process.
Must-Haves:
- Extensive experience with live games and economy design
- Strong background in systems design, meta systems, and player progression
- Experience balancing game systems based on player feedback and analytics
- Ability to understand complex variable-driven relationships and how to use them to create simple, relatable gameplay
- Experience working in 3D engines (Unity, Unreal, or similar)
- Code literacy to read and understan