Expert Level Designer - Single Player

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Job Description:

Sledgehammer Games is a leading developer in the video game industry, best known for its work on the Call of Duty franchise. Since our inception in 2009, the studio has delivered iconic titles like including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: WWII (2017), and, most recently, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

As industry leaders in first-person shooter development, our commitment to excellence is reflected in every detail of our games, from highly polished multiplayer experiences to emotionally engaging single-player campaigns. At Sledgehammer Games, we believe in pushing boundaries, redefining the possibilities of interactive storytelling, and setting new standards for visual and gameplay fidelity. Together, we aim to deliver world-class gaming content that continues to set the bar for quality, innovation, and player engagement.

We are excited to invite a talented and passionate developer to join our growing team as an Expert Single Player Level Designer based in our Guildford, UK studio. In this role, you will work collaboratively with our talented teams across the globe, including our locations in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  If you're ready to be part of a dynamic and collaborative environment where your skills can make a real impact, we invite you to explore career opportunities with us.

To learn more about our studio, please visit us at www.sledgehammergames.com

Please note: This is not a remote role. This is a hybrid position based in our Guildford Studio, offering flexibility with a combination of in-studio and remote workdays. Permanent remote work is not available for this position. 

Your Mission:

As an Expert Single player Level Designer, you will design, build and own bold and original levels for our single player campaign. We’re looking for enthusiastic, experienced talent with strong demonstrable level design experience to push the quality bar of Call of Duty campaign levels. 

Responsibilities:

• Design and create original, compelling level flows that serve the design and narrative direction while pushing the boundaries of what a Call of Duty experience can be. 

• Build blockouts for your level in our proprietary editor that are engaging, readable and facilitate the level vision. Leverage reference and work closely with the art team to ensure these are visually compelling and grounded in reality. 

• Script the full player experience in these spaces ensuring it exemplifies the desired tone of the level, including but not limited to core progression flow, encounter setups, exotic prototyping, setpiece choreography, narrative/cinematic integration and world ambience. 

• Own the quality, functionality and stability of your level throughout its life cycle, from pre-production to final polish and bugfixing.

• Autonomously anticipate challenges and push quality across all facets of the level, pro-actively identifying issues/opportunities and pitching/prototyping improvements.

• Research the game’s subject matter and be intimately familiar with the direction and narrative intentions to best inform your work.

• Collaborate with art, engineering, animation, VFX and audio teams to implement their content into the game, providing feedback where necessary to ensure the vision of the level is upheld.

• Iterate on your work based on feedback from directors, playtests and the wider team, pro-actively seeking it when required.

• Meet with senior leadership and supporting departments on the PST time-zone as required for knowledge sharing, iteration and feedback.

• Mentor junior designers, feeding back on their work and refining their skillset and best practices. 

• Prioritise your time effectively to meet deadlines, while working with production to ensure your level is being correctly planned and scoped.

Qualifications:

• A wealth of proven experience in level design, with a portfolio that demonstrates this.

• A strong interest in the Call of Duty series and singleplayer games, with a passion for innovation within this space. 

• High expertise in creating clean, high quality content in at least one level editor and scripting tool.

• The ability to conceptualise and communicate an engaging gameplay experience, along with the technical ability to carry out your vision.

• Strong critical thinking skills, able to critique your own work and abstract high level themes from content and feedback that can be articulated to the team.

• Self-motivated, able to envision and implement level improvements with autonomy that are in keeping with the game’s direction.

• Able to create level layouts that are beautiful and believable while serving your experiential intentions.

• Strong teamwork and communication skills, with an open and enthusiastic approach to collaboration and giving/receiving feedback.

Extra Points:

• Experience working in Radiant.

• Experience in written scripting languages (e.g. C#, Javascript, Python).

• Experience in design for the first person shooter genre.

• Strengths in another core discipline (e.g. environment art, animation, engineering).

• Familiarity with previous Call of Duty campaigns.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision Blizzard, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

Our World 

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization. 

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up. 

Ready to Activate Your Future? 

The video game industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners. 

Sledgehammer Games is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.