Spark is looking for an experienced Lead Combat Designer to join us in making a breakout hit based on an established console franchise. This is an opportunity for you to have a hand in creating a bold new take on 3rd person action slasher with horror elements for the PS3 and Xbox360. The Lead Combat Designer must own the quality and goals of the Combat team and lead the group to accomplish their goals. The ideal candidate is an outstanding designer with a proven track record designing and balancing combat, player controls, and AI for AAA third-person melee action games. Must have a thorough knowledge of game design theory and tools pipelines, possessing strong leadership skills, production-sensibilities, and the talent to produce and implement the highest quality work.

Responsibilities
• Work closely with the Game Director and leads to develop a combat system that feels visceral, fast, and fun.
• Work directly with animators to tighten low-level mechanical tuning and timing.
• Collaborate closely with effects, art, animation, sound and engineering team members to achieve said AAA combat experience.
• Work with all departments on the scheduling and integration of the Game Design, as well as game feature development goals and execution.
• Collaborate with Game Director and Lead Level Designer on meta game systems and AI.
• Generate documentation to clearly communicate ideas and goals to team and publisher.
• Spearhead and deliver work on time within a tight schedule. Drive the department to consistently meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity.
• Develop methods to gather data for game balancing and tuning through focus testing and implement changes based on that data.
• Demonstrate initiative as a senior member of the department, mentor other design team members, and set examples of best practices in accordance with Game Director’s expectations.
• Work collaboratively with all levels of the development team, including active participation in Spark’s agile-development process. Cultivate a positive team dynamic, and exhibit a professional attitude by demonstrating a good balance between creativity and practical flexibility.

Requirements
• Minimum of 5 years as a combat designer, or similar role, on current generation and previous generation consoles.
• Melee Combat system experience with player mechanics and AI behaviors.
• Understanding of sword fighting combat tactics, martial arts and weapons.
• Level editor experience using Unreal Editor, Hammer, Radiant, or other 3D package.
• Excellent communication, time-management and organizational skills. A strong ability to work across multiple disciplines to gather feedback and address cross-functional issues. Penchant for practical innovation and the ability to bring new ideas to the table.
• Passionate player of games with an ability to analyze competitive products for their strengths and weaknesses.

Preferred Skills
• Unreal 3 level building and scripting experience on a least one shipped console product.
• Thorough knowledge of Kismet and familiarity with Matinee.
• Strong sense of story and narrative techniques as they pertain to the gaming medium.
• Familiarity with one or more gameplay scripting or programming languages.
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum development environment.

How to Apply
• Applicants must be able to work at our Sherman Oaks, California studio.
• Email only. No visits or phone calls please.
• The Subject line of your email must reference the job title and your name, like this: Lead Combat Designer: Last name, First name
• Include your resume as an email attachment, preferably as a PDF or in Word 2003 or later format. Include links to online portfolio if applicable.
• Make sure your resume also includes your name, address, phone, and email.
• Send email to des-jobC0880@sparkunlimited.com.

This job listing originated on Gamasutra.com, the game industry's leader.