Mob Entertainment
Lead Level Designer
United States · Full-time
Sponsorship not specified$104k-$153kDetected 1 day ago
Unreal EngineLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationMentoring
About the role
- We're looking for an experienced Lead Level Designer to help define the spaces, pacing, and player experience from its earliest stages through to production. In this role, you'll establish the level design philosophy, build the game's first playable environments, and lead a small team of level designers through prototype, vertical slice, and production.
- You'll partner closely with Design, Art, Narrative, Audio, Engineering, and Production to create memorable environments that evoke fear, reward exploration, and support compelling gameplay. This role is ideal for someone who understands that great horror level design isn't just about layout-it's about manipulating tension, anticipation, player psychology, and environmental storytelling.
- You'll be expected to lead by example, remaining hands-on while mentoring designers and helping establish workflows that can scale into full production.
Responsibilities
- Level Design Leadership
- Define best practices for pacing, navigation, encounter design, exploration, and environmental storytelling.
- Lead the creation of blockouts, playable spaces, and prototype levels that validate core gameplay.
- Establish workflows and documentation standards for the level design team.
- Design engaging levels that support exploration, tension, combat, stealth, puzzles, and narrative moments.
- Create memorable gameplay moments through layout, pacing, lighting collaboration, and player psychology.
- Build spaces that maximize replayability and player engagement without sacrificing immersion.
- Design environments that create suspense through anticipation rather than constant action.
Requirements
- Strong proficiency with Unreal Engine.
- Experience scripting gameplay interactions using Blueprint
Nice to have
- Experience shipping horror, survival horror, immersive sim, or narrative-driven action games.
- Strong understanding of first-person level design principles.
- Familiarity with lighting, environmental storytelling, and cinematic pacing.
- Knowledge of AI navigation, encounter tuning, and gameplay balancing.
- Experience with psychological horror, survival horror, or atmospheric thriller games.
- Strong understanding of environmental storytelling techniques.
- Experience collaborating with transmedia or established entertainment IP.
- Familiarity with modular environment construction.
Compensation
- The base salary range for this position is listed below.
- Final compensation within the applicable salary range will be determined based on factors such as the applicant's experience, qualifications, and work location.
- San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; & Seattle, WA DC Metropolitan Areas: $104,000 - $153,000 USD annually
- Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; & Miami, FL Metropolitan Areas: $90,000 - $133,000USD annually
- All Other U.S. Locations: $77,000 - $113,000 USD annually
Benefits
- Own the level design vision and philosophy throughout pre-production.
Equal opportunity
- equal opportunity workplace and complies with all federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment.
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This listing is sourced directly from Mob Entertainment's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.