Lead Gameplay Designer

Role Description

When you join BulletFarm, you will be the only gameplay designer at the studio. Your first months will be spent prototyping the core combat loop directly in Blueprints alongside the Creative Director and Technical Director - no design team beneath you, no established documentation template, and no process to inherit. You will be in the tools daily, building things that will be played, broken, and rebuilt.

The Lead title reflects seniority and the expectation that you will grow the design discipline over time. But for the foreseeable future, the most important thing about this role is that you are a maker first. You have deep FPS combat experience, you prototype fast, and you have a track record of shipping gameplay systems that feel good - not just designing them.

The ideal candidate is passionate about creating engaging FPS combat and puzzle-adjacent gameplay. You are an efficient, hands-on, and execution-oriented designer.

You also understand how individual mechanics connect into larger player experiences and can design systems that create meaningful choices, long-term engagement, and memorable gameplay moments.

You are equally comfortable with:

• Whiteboarding a new feature
• Prototyping with engineers
• Writing detailed design documentation
• Presenting gameplay concepts to studio leadership

You have a specific point of view about first-person co-op action games - what makes them cohesive, what makes cooperative mechanics feel meaningful, and how systems design, player progression, and encounter design work together to create an experience worth coming back to.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in game design, with at least one shipped AAA title in a Senior Designer, Lead Designer, Systems Designer, or equivalent role.
• Deep expertise in gameplay systems design, player engagement loops, progression systems, and game mechanics.
• Strong understanding of player psychology, feedback systems, and emergent gameplay design.
• Experience collaborating closely with Engineering teams to prototype and implement gameplay features.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 5 and modern gameplay scripting workflows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to create clear and actionable design documentation.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a highly iterative design mindset.
• Experience working through prototype and early pre-production phases of game development.
• Active engagement with AI tools relevant to game design: including AI-assisted content generation, playtesting analysis, or systemic design tooling. Comfort with AI as a creative and analytical tool is a studio-wide requirement.
• Ability to thrive in a startup environment where processes, systems, and solutions are being built from the ground up.

Requirements

• Experience designing co-op, multiplayer, or shared-player experiences.
• First-person action or FPS development experience.
• Experience helping define gameplay pillars and product vision during early development.
• Previous experience with original IP or new franchise development.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary, health, dental, and vision benefits.
• Remote first: work alongside a small, senior team from anywhere in the US or Canada on a project with a clear 2029 launch target on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
• Join early enough that your decisions matter: the studio is at a stage where the people building it have direct influence over how it operates, what it values, and how it makes games.
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), and flexible paid time off.

Company Description

BulletFarm is an independent, AAA studio. We are a creative partnership backed by GreaterThan Group, a strategic co-owner with deep gaming industry experience and a long-term ownership model aligned with the studio's success.

BulletFarm is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We are committed to building a team that reflects a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.