Lead Game Designer (f/m/d)
München, Remote
Full-time
Permanent employee
Your role:
As a Lead Game Designer, you will spearhead the creative vision and design execution for our projects. You will manage a team of designers, define workflows, and ensure alignment with project goals, contributing directly to the success of our games.
The kind of stuff you`ll be doing:
- Collaborate closely with the Design Director and the Project Owner (or Creative Producer) to define and uphold the creative vision of the game.
- Take ownership of the design pipeline, ensuring quality, consistency, and timely delivery of design deliverables.
- Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of game and level designers to achieve their best work.
- Define and document core game systems, mechanics, and features, ensuring they align with gameplay goals.
- Oversee and iterate on game systems through player feedback, playtesting, and internal reviews.
- Work closely with cross-disciplinary teams, including artists, writers, and engineers, to bring the game to life.
- Review and provide constructive feedback on design documents, prototypes, and ingame implementations.
- Conduct competitor analysis and stay updated on industry trends to ensure innovation and relevance.
Who are we looking for:
- 8+ years of experience in Game Design, including 3+ years in a leadership role.
- Proven track record of working on at least 2 shipped titles, ideally including AA or AAA console or PC games.
- Expertise in gameplay, systems, and mechanics design, with experience leading teams on projects with complex requirements.
- Hands-on experience with Unreal Engine and familiarity with tools like Photoshop or other 2D/3D design software.
- A deep passion for gaming and an analytical mindset to learn from and improve upon industry best practices.
- Strong understanding of UX/UI principles and how they impact player experience.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
- Stays composed and productive under shifting priorities, tight deadlines, and creative setbacks. Is able to translate ambiguity into clear next steps for the team rather than passing pressure downward.
- Delivers consistent design output across long production cycles, balancing iteration and polish with the discipline to ship on time and within scope.
- Leads designers through difficult phases (crunch risks, scope cuts, direction changes, playtest feedback) while protecting team morale, focus, and creative confidence.
- Gives and receives feedback with directness and care. Holds the quality bar without bruising relationships across different departments like design, art, programming, and production.
- Communicates progress proactively, and surfaces problems early with proposed solutions, and if needed through escalations.
- Builds credibility with peers and leadership by making reasoning transparent, explains design decisions in terms of player value, project goals, and trade-offs others can engage with.
- Maintains perspective during conflict or criticism, separating the work from the person, and keeps the conversation focused on what's best for the game.
- A motivational leadership style, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Additional responsibilities:
- Collaborate on high-level pitches and presentations to secure buy-in from stakeholders.
- Work with narrative teams to ensure missions and scenarios align with the overarching narrative and world-building.
- Create and implement strategies for team development, including growth plans for junior and mid-level designers.
- Ensure that team workflows and pipelines are efficient, scalable, and welldocumented.
The ideal candidate also has one more of the following:
- Experience designing open-world systems or working on fighting/combat gameplay.
- A strong eye for cinematic direction and narrative design, including story arcs and dialogue writing.
- Ability to conceptualize and implement world-building, lore, and immersive game elements.
- Prior experience in roles requiring collaboration with technical departments on tools and pipeline improvements.
You are:
- A natural leader who can motivate and inspire a team through passion, communication, and mentorship.
- Highly organized and able to juggle multiple priorities and projects effectively.
- Open to critique and adept at giving constructive feedback.
- Adaptable and eager to learn new tools and approaches.
- Driven to create exceptional player experiences through innovation and collaboration.
What we offer:
- A welcoming and creative workplace
- A 38-hour workweek, ensuring a healthy work-life balance.
- Flexible remote work options tailored to individual needs.
- Perks like free drinks, a weekly organic fruit basket.
- Monthly credit card top-up of €50 and a lunch subsidy (available for employees based in Germany, after the probation period).
- Public transport ticket coverage (only for employees working in Munich).
About us
Located in Munich, Germany, Aesir Interactive offers a fun, focused and casual atmosphere while developing games for PC, Xbox, Playstation and Switch. We believe in people and our team and want to advance your skills and knowledge.
We strongly believe in agile development and the constant adaption of our workflows. We embrace the uniqueness of each project and prefer a structured and documented work style.
We strongly believe in agile development and the constant adaption of our workflows. We embrace the uniqueness of each project and prefer a structured and documented work style.