Absurd Ventures
Absurd Ventures

Mission Design Lead (Campaign)

$160,000 – $190,000 per year

TLDR

Shape story-driven missions that adapt to player choices, combining open-world systems with narrative design and hands-on playable contributions.

Summary

As Mission Design Lead (Campaign), you will be the primary vision holder and a hands-on contributor for story missions and single-player campaigns. Lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver critical path and side missions that combine best-in-class storytelling and action gameplay in an open world setting.  

Core Responsibilities

  • Drive the design and implementation of engaging, diverse, innovative missions within a story-driven, open-world game.  
  • Work closely with the narrative team to develop the flow of main story missions.  
  • Develop and execute the mission design vision and strategy, ensuring that missions align with the game's overall narrative, thematic, and player experience goals.  
  • Continuously seek opportunities to innovate and push the boundaries of mission design.  
  • Leverage the game's open-world systems and mechanics to create dynamic and unpredictable mission experiences that adapt to player choices and actions.  
  • Lead and mentor a team of mission designers, providing direction, feedback and support throughout the development process.  
  • Go beyond documentation and management to lead from the trenches, with hands-on contributions to the playable experience.  
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation and iteration.  

Core Qualifications

  • 5 or more years of experience in mission design, ideally within an open-world game.  
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.  
  • Innovative thinker with creative problem-solving skills who thrives in a collaborative team environment.  
  • Strong understanding of storytelling and narrative design.  

Plus If...

  • Experience leading multidisciplinary teams 
  • Experience in UE4 or UE5 
  • Experience working with co-development partners 

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 based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including paid time off, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.  

Benefits

Equity Compensation

equity

Health Insurance

medical/dental/vision insurance

Bonus

Paid Parental Leave

parental leave

Paid Time Off

company holidays

Absurd Ventures is a media company dedicated to crafting original intellectual property across all platforms and formats. We build immersive narrative worlds, develop intriguing characters, and write engaging stories, producing content for live-action, animation, video games, books, graphic novels, and scripted podcasts.

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