At Kabam, we’re constantly raising the bar of excellence in free-to-play gaming. We hire for passion and diversity so that we can triumph in our collective skill. Our teams are made up of a fusion of personalities and interests bound together by a collaborative nature, fun-loving culture, and a drive to do what it takes to make great games. And this is where you come in…
The key function of the Lead Systems Designer is to manage and lead the Systems and Missions design team. They lead the execution of a well-defined vision for creating an effective set of system rules, features, and regular content that are able to sustain and engage users.
This role is a full-time, on-site position based 5 days a week at our Downtown Vancouver studio.
Key Accountabilities
Managing and Leading a Multi-talented Systems and Missions Design Team:
- Oversee the daily operations and workflow of the systems and missions design team.
- Provide guidance and mentorship to team members to foster professional growth and development.
- Allocate tasks and responsibilities based on individual strengths and expertise.
- Effectively communicate complex design concepts to both technical and non-technical team members.
- Work with your team members to set goals and foster their career growth.
- Coordinate with the broader leadership team to improve the operational health of the Systems and Missions Design team.
Executing on a Well-defined Vision and Goal:
- Understand the game's overarching vision and goals, and ensure systems rules and parameters are in line with them.
- Accountable for leading multiple large system initiatives, working with stakeholders to drive them to completion.
- Accountable for the roadmapping and execution of both cyclical and standalone gameplay content for our live game.
- Views all game systems holistically with a long-term lens toward overall product vision.
- Work with leadership to identify systemic risks and opportunities within the game, and create a plan to resolve them.
Working with Interdisciplinary Teams:
- Work closely with Engineers, UI/UX artists, Data, QA, LiveOps, and other Design sub-disciplines to design and implement engaging game systems and gameplay content.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure the game’s systems are healthy and working towards the overall project goals.
- Predicting systems risks early and driving the implementation of solutions.
- Continuously iterate and balance the game systems to meet desired outcomes.
Leverage feedback and explore new gameplay mechanics and ideas:
- Work with the team to identify opportunities for improving player experiences through well-designed game systems and gameplay content.
- Leverage data and feedback to enhance and innovate upon existing systems.
- Introduce new and innovative gameplay mechanics to enhance the gameplay experience.
Coach and Mentor Team Members:
- Direct and mentor Systems and Missions Designers on best practices.
- Share knowledge and experience with junior team members and other teams.
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent working experience with an emphasis on game design.
- 7+ years of game design experience on commercially successful properties.
- Former experience managing game designers, schedules, roadmaps, and/or KPIs is strongly desired.
- Experience designing game systems, understanding player psychology, and retention strategies.
- Fluent in analyzing data, industry trends, interpreting insights, and using them to optimize in-game systems and mechanics.
- Free to Play experience in the mobile market, ideally in RPGs or ARPGs.
- Experience working on a Live Operated title.
- Experience collaborating with cross-discipline teams to implement large game features.
- Rock-solid organizational skills with the ability to juggle multiple priorities.
- Excellent communication skills, including documentation and presentation.
- Familiarity with Google suite - Words, Sheets, Slides, etc.
- A strong desire to make the best games in the world alongside others that share your motivation.
- Project and/or gameplay content pipeline management experience.
- Extended Health Coverage: effective day one, no waiting period! Our benefits cover health, dental, life, disability, and extended paramedical services such as vision care, mental health practitioners, massage, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and much more.
- DEIB Benefits: DEIB is important to us and to our people - that’s why our benefits include gender-affirming care, fertility care, and other hormonal treatments and drugs.
- Flexible Spending Accounts: our benefits are built on a flex credit model, so you’re able to choose the coverage levels that are right for you, and allocate the rest to a group RRSP/TFSA, Health Spending account, and/or Personal Spending Account.
- RRSP Matching: everyone retires eventually, and we help our people save for their futures with a contribution matching program once you reach 90 days with us.
- Commuter Benefit: we believe in the power of in-person collaboration, and want to support you in making it work for you! We provide a flexible, monthly cash allowance to help cover the costs of transit, parking, or even personal logistics like childcare and pet care.
- PTO and Parental Leave: we offer paid parental leave, flexible paid time off, paid time off for volunteering, sick leave, and holiday closures.
- Employee and Family Assistance Program: this program provides crisis management support, immediate mental health care, and generalized support for emotional, mental, and financial well-being.
- Telus Virtual Health: we provide increased access to remote healthcare providers for prescription refills or referrals from the comfort of your home.
- Learning and growth: We encourage people to grow both personally and professionally, and support this through regular lunch & learns and an education stipend.
- Pay transparency: We share with employees the pay range their role falls within and clear career maps to determine how they can grow within their role or level-up to a promotion.
- Cool spaces: Our offices are in Vancouver, Montreal, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Whether it’s summers on the rooftop patio in Downtown Vancouver, or watching the fireworks in Montreal’s South Shore - we want our people to feel like their time spent in office is worthwhile!
- Giving back: Kabammers have a dedicated paid day off every year to volunteer to a cause close to their hearts. Some teams even band together for group volunteer days off-site!
The typical hiring range listed above is specific to candidates located in Vancouver. The salary will be determined based on your knowledge, skills and competencies, and you’ll have room to grow after you join!
If you’re interested in the position but your expectations don’t fully align with the provided range, we still encourage you to apply! Considerations may be made based on your experience level.
Excited by this opportunity? Kabam is dedicated to growing our diverse and inclusive workforce, so if your past experience doesn’t perfectly match the listed requirements we encourage you to apply anyways - you could be a great fit for this or other positions.
We invite you to apply now and start the conversation with us. Together, we can create and support some of the best games ever made and entertain the world!
About Kabam
Kabam is a world leader in developing entertaining, immersive, and highly social multiplayer games, bringing high-quality graphics, next-generation technology, and revolutionary gameplay to players around the world.
Kabam’s games, Marvel Contest of Champions, Shop Titans, and more have generated hundreds of millions of downloads and have received multiple awards including Apple’s Editor’s Choice and Google Play’s Best Game of the Year.
Founded in 2006, Kabam has studios and offices in Vancouver & Montreal in Canada, and Los Angeles & San Francisco in the United States. Kabam is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Netmarble Games.
Kabam is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and equitable workplace, and inclusive environment for all existing and potential employees. Employment decisions are based on candidate qualifications and business need, not race, color, ancestry, place of origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, political belief, religion, creed, marital or family status, medical condition, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, prior criminal conviction or any other protected class in accordance with federal, state or provincial and local laws and ordinances. Accommodations will be provided as requested by candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
