Naughty Dog · 1 day ago
Senior Game Designer (Combat)
United States, Santa Monica, CA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level
$145K/yr - $181K/yr
5+ years expNaughty Dog is a renowned game development studio known for its critically acclaimed titles. They are seeking a Senior Game Designer to pitch, design, and implement enemy NPC archetypes while collaborating with various departments to enhance gameplay mechanics and systems.
GamingVideo GamesWeb Development
Responsibilities
Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes
Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implementing and tuning enemy AI behaviors
Work with animators to develop enemy locomotion and traversal, melee moves, ambient behaviors, and other custom abilities. Make every enemy archetype feel unique and memorable
Collaborate with the Design team to conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems
Communicate with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the enemies you’re owning
Write and maintain documentation that establishes the core vision of the enemy archetypes
Drive communication and collaboration for enemies you design and the levels they are in, ensuring communication across disciplines and meeting deadlines
Effective and respectful communicator and collaborator, both with other designers and members of other departments
Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems and fine-tune them based on player experiences
Mentor junior designers and contribute to the overall growth of the design team
Qualification
Required
Ability to work hybrid from our Santa Monica, CA studio is required
5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for games, specifically focused on developing action-adventure or shooter games
At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role
Strong coding ability: Computer Science degree preferred though not required
Proficient in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting)
Welcomes feedback on their work and embraces the 'let's try it' mentality
Proficient and effective communication skills, including diagramming and sketching
Fluent in modern character action-adventure and shooter combat games. Maintains knowledge of the broader gaming landscape trends
Knowledge of narrative structure and how it intersects with gameplay and combat
A keen eye for detail in character action games, able to tune gameplay systems to make them feel smooth and impactful
Strong leadership and mentoring skills
Preferred
Experience with behavior trees or similar NPC AI concepts
Benefits
Annual bonus
Other incentive plans
Company
Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, a video game developer that produces games on PlayStation systems, including the Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter franchises.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Naughty Dog has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (4)
2023 (4)
2022 (2)
2021 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
unknown2001-01-22Acquired
Leadership Team
Rafael Grassetti
Art Director
Recent News
2026-01-06
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2025-12-16
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