Refactor Games · 1 month ago
Senior Technical Game Designer – UE5 (Sports / Action / Simulation Games)
Beverly Hills, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
5+ years expRefactor Games is a AAA sports video game studio developing the next generation of professional football video games using Unreal Engine 5. They are seeking an experienced Senior Technical Game Designer to drive core gameplay systems and tools for their upcoming European football title, collaborating with various teams to create authentic football experiences.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Console GamesGamingPC GamesSoftwareVideo Games
Responsibilities
Own the technical design and implementation of game features
Use Unreal Engine Blueprint and/or C++ to prototype, iterate, and ship high-quality gameplay features
Develop, maintain, and improve design tools, workflows, and pipelines to support designers, animators, and live content teams
Collaborate closely with gameplay engineering to define system architecture, feature requirements, and long-term scalability
Integrate and tune animation systems such as state machines, blendspaces, motion matching, and procedural animation for player behaviors
Work with AI designers to support improvements to AI decision-making, player tactics, team shape, and football intelligence
Profile, debug, and optimize gameplay systems to maintain performance on all target platforms
Provide mentorship and technical guidance to other designers, helping them use UE tools effectively and safely
Write clear documentation on tools, systems, best practices, and technical constraints
Partner with production and cross-discipline leads to scope features, plan roadmaps, and ensure delivery quality
Qualification
Required
5+ years of experience as a Technical Designer, Gameplay Designer, or Systems Designer on at least one shipped AAA or high-quality game
Advanced proficiency with Unreal Engine (Blueprints is required; C++ is a strong plus)
Strong understanding of gameplay systems, player mechanics, and animation-driven character behaviors
Proven ability to build prototypes that clearly communicate design intent
Experience working with animation graphs, blend trees, state machines, motion matching, or similar systems
Ability to debug complex gameplay issues and optimize design implementations
Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering, animation, and design teams
Strong passion for European football and understanding of core systems (movement, ball control, tactics, player roles)
Preferred
Experience on a sports title, especially European football (soccer)
Comfort working directly in C++ within Unreal Engine
Experience developing designer-friendly tools and pipelines
Knowledge of football analytics and gameplay modeling (xG models, intensity metrics, stamina/fatigue models, etc.)
Understanding of networked gameplay and replication considerations
Mentorship experience or leadership of small feature teams
Benefits
Competitive compensation
Benefits
Relocation support as needed
Company
Refactor Games
Refactor Games creates physics-driven sports and MOBA video games for PC and console players.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageLeadership Team
Nathan Burba
Co-Founder & CEO
Company data provided by crunchbase