Spark is looking for an experienced Senior Designer to join us in making a breakout hit called “Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z”. This is an opportunity for you to have a hand in creating a bold new take on 3rd Person slasher with Horror elements for the PS3 and Xbox360. The Senior Designer will be responsible for collaborating on game design systems, designing/developing levels, and implementing gameplay scenarios including: level construction, basic lighting, event scripting, AI scripting, game balancing, and tuning.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Design Lead on game design systems and generate documentation to clearly communicate ideas and goals.
• Implement, iterate, and evolve game/level design from early planning stages to final release.
• Deliver work on time within a tight schedule, while working closely with the level design, artist, animation, and programming team members.
• Demonstrate initiative as a senior member of the department, mentor other design team members, and set examples of best practices in accordance with design lead's expectations.
• Cultivate a positive team dynamic, and exhibit a professional attitude by demonstrating a good balance between creativity and practical flexibility.
• 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 level designer.
• Level editor experience using Unreal Editor, Hammer, Radiant, or other 3D package.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills – a strong ability to work across multiple disciplines to gather feedback and address cross-functional design issues.
• 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
• Third-person action combat level design experience. Experience designing 3rd person action combat tactics and weapons and scenarios.
• Familiarity with Maya.
• Unreal 3 level building and scripting experience on a least one shipped product. Thorough knowledge of Kismet and familiarity with Matinee.
• Familiarity with one or more gameplay scripting or programming languages.
• Strong sense of story and narrative techniques as they pertain to the gaming medium.
• 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: Senior 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-jobC0940@sparkunlimited.com.

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