Design Director

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Design Director based in Canada.

This role offers the opportunity to define and lead the creative direction of a narrative-driven investigative storytelling experience.

You will shape the vision behind the game’s world, characters, gameplay systems, and emotional impact while guiding a talented multidisciplinary team.

The position combines creative leadership with hands-on design expertise, requiring someone who can translate ambitious ideas into polished player experiences.

You will collaborate closely with production, engineering, art, audio, and narrative teams to build cohesive and memorable gameplay.

This is an opportunity to influence a high-quality project from vision through execution while fostering a strong culture of creativity and collaboration.

The ideal candidate thrives on solving complex design challenges, mentoring teams, and bringing immersive interactive worlds to life.

• Define, communicate, and champion the creative vision across narrative, gameplay, art, audio, and overall player experience.
• Partner with project leadership and stakeholders to ensure alignment on creative goals, priorities, and execution strategies.
• Lead the development of narrative systems, characters, investigative gameplay, environmental storytelling, and key gameplay experiences.
• Mentor and support the design team by establishing a culture focused on creativity, collaboration, accountability, and quality.
• Provide clear creative direction, feedback, and guidance to help teams transform concepts into polished, shippable content.
• Collaborate with engineering, art, audio, and production teams to establish effective workflows and maintain alignment throughout development.
• Identify creative risks, narrative challenges, and production constraints while developing solutions that protect the overall vision.
• Contribute directly to writing, game design, prototyping, narrative implementation, and content development when needed.
• Support iteration through playtesting, feedback cycles, and continuous refinement of player experiences.
• Ensure consistency, quality, and cohesion across all aspects of the game throughout development milestones.

• 10+ years of experience in game development, including at least 5 years in creative leadership, narrative leadership, or senior design roles.
• Proven experience shipping at least one narrative-driven or creatively ambitious game with significant ownership over design, story, or overall creative direction.
• Strong hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, including in-engine tools, prototyping, gameplay implementation, and iteration workflows.
• Deep understanding of interactive storytelling, narrative pacing, player agency, and the relationship between gameplay and presentation.
• Demonstrated ability to lead creative teams, mentor designers, and maintain quality standards across complex projects.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to align teams across design, narrative, engineering, art, audio, and production.
• Ability to translate high-level creative concepts into practical development plans and actionable design goals.
• Comfortable contributing directly to writing, prototyping, gameplay design, and content creation while managing scope, schedule, and technical constraints.
• Passion for crime fiction, investigative storytelling, suspense, mystery, and character-driven experiences is an asset.
• Experience with dialogue systems, cinematic storytelling, performance capture, or branching narrative tools is considered a plus.
• Strong appreciation for research-driven storytelling and authentic adaptation of real-world subjects into interactive experiences.

• Competitive annual salary range of $140,000–$160,000 CAD.
• Remote-first work environment with flexible working arrangements.
• Opportunity to lead the creative direction of an ambitious narrative-driven game project.
• Collaboration with talented developers across multiple disciplines.
• Ability to influence game design decisions and contribute directly to a high-quality player experience.
• Supportive environment focused on creativity, innovation, and professional growth.
• Opportunity to work on original projects and expand creative expertise within an independent studio setting.