Lead Designer at Side

United Kingdom

<p> </p><p>At Side, we partner with some of the world's leading developers and publishers to solve complex production challenges and help bring exceptional games to life. From concept through live operations, our co-development teams work as trusted extensions of our clients' studios, contributing expertise across design, engineering, art, audio, QA, and production. </p><p> </p><p>We're looking for a Design Lead or Design Director to drive design excellence across a range of high-profile co-development projects. This role is suited to an experienced design leader who combines strong creative vision with hands-on development expertise and enjoys working directly with clients, multidisciplinary teams, and production stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>The ideal candidate will bring deep experience leading design teams on Unreal Engine projects, with a background spanning gameplay design, systems design, technical design, and level design. You'll be equally comfortable defining player experiences at a high level, prototyping and validating ideas, mentoring designers, and collaborating with engineering teams to ensure successful execution.</p><p> </p><p> Whether you're currently a Lead Designer ready for a broader challenge or an established Design Director looking to work across multiple projects and genres, this is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on both client outcomes and Side's growing co-development practice.</p> <p>What you will do:</p><ul><li>Lead the design vision and execution across co-development projects, acting as the primary design partner for both internal teams and client stakeholders.</li><li>Drive gameplay, systems, level, and technical design initiatives from concept through delivery.</li><li>Collaborate closely with engineering, art, production, and QA teams to create engaging, high-quality player experiences.</li><li>Provide creative leadership, mentorship, and feedback to designers across multiple disciplines.</li><li>Prototype, validate, and iterate on gameplay features, progression systems, level layouts, and player engagement mechanics.</li><li>Review and improve gameplay flow, combat encounters, boss experiences, and overall game balance, with a particular focus on FPS and action-oriented experiences.</li><li>Identify design risks early, solve complex production challenges, and ensure design quality is maintained throughout development.</li></ul><p></p><p>What we are looking for: </p><ul><li>Proven experience as a Lead Designer, Principal Designer, or Design Director on shipped commercial titles.</li><li>Deep expertise with Unreal Engine and a strong understanding of gameplay, systems, and level design.</li><li>Experience leading cross-functional teams and working directly with clients or external development partners.</li><li>Strong FPS design experience, with a track record of improving gameplay flow, combat encounters, progression, and player engagement.</li><li>Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and mentoring skills, with the ability to balance creative vision against production realities.</li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>Nice to have:</p><ul><li>Experience developing immersive VR experiences for Meta Quest, creating compelling first-person gameplay, and improving player engagement through level flow, encounter design, progression systems, and boss experiences.</li><li> Confident client-facing communicator, able to present design solutions, manage stakeholder expectations, and build trusted relationships with development partners.</li></ul><p></p> <ul><li>Competitive Salary.</li><li>Dynamic, multicultural and fun environment.</li><li>You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.</li><li>We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.</li></ul><p></p><p>About Side <br />Side (formerly PTW) is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 20 studios in 14 countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. </p><p>Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets. </p><p>Experience our side of life. For more information, visit www.side.inc</p>