Mission Design Lead (Campaign)
absurdventures
Santa Monica
Posted Mar 18, 2026
- Other
- Game Development
Job description
**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.