Principal Systems Designer

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

• Design and implement core game systems covering progression, combat scaling, economy, rewards, and related player-facing mechanics from initial concepts through shippable implementation.
• Partner closely with gameplay and combat designers to ensure abilities, RPG progression, power scaling, and content difficulty reinforce a cohesive player experience.
• Build and maintain quantitative models, simulations, spreadsheets, and tuning tools for loot tables, XP curves, costs, stat growth, and other progression mechanics.
• Implement, tune, balance, and iterate on systems directly in Unity and supporting design tools, remaining closely involved throughout development.
• Collaborate with engineering to define and improve authoring tools, pipelines, and workflows that enable efficient systems development, balancing, and iteration.
• Use playtest feedback, analytics, and other evidence to evaluate system performance, identify opportunities, and make informed design decisions.
• Create clear and actionable design documentation that enables engineering, production, and design partners to execute effectively.
• Evaluate proposed systems constructively, identifying risks, trade-offs, dependencies, and opportunities while ensuring solutions can evolve with future content.
• Work across disciplines to resolve ambiguous zero-to-one problems and transform them into scalable, well-instrumented systems suitable for a long-term live-service environment.

• 8+ years of experience designing and owning complex game systems, ideally spanning progression, economies, combat-adjacent systems, or related mechanics through development, launch, or live operations.
• Strong technical capabilities, including advanced spreadsheet skills and hands-on experience implementing systems in Unity, Unreal, proprietary engines, scripting environments, or comparable design and development tools.
• Deep understanding of RPG progression and scaling, including power curves, stat growth, gear or ability scaling, and how these systems interact with combat and content difficulty.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data thoughtfully and understand both its strengths and limitations when making design decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to take systems from initial definition through implementation, tuning, iteration, and a shippable state.
• Ability to turn ambiguous design challenges into clear frameworks, specifications, and documentation that engineering, production, and design teams can act upon.
• Experience collaborating closely with combat, gameplay, and content designers to connect progression systems with moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and feedback skills, with a constructive approach to cross-functional problem solving and iteration.
• A hands-on mindset and willingness to remain deeply involved in implementation, tuning, playtesting, and refinement rather than operating solely at a strategic level.
• Experience with free-to-play collector games, multiplayer action RPGs, or licensed IP is considered an asset.

• Opportunity to shape the foundational systems of a new mobile-first, free-to-play live-service title from the pre-production stage.
• Significant ownership over progression, economy, combat scaling, rewards, and other core systems.
• Collaborative environment working closely with experienced gameplay, systems, engineering, production, and creative professionals.
• Opportunity to work on a globally recognized intellectual property.
• Remote work opportunity for candidates based in Canada.
• Exposure to large-scale live-service game development and systems designed for long-term player engagement.
• Opportunity to influence design tools, workflows, and systems architecture from an early stage.
• Inclusive, collaborative culture focused on creativity, innovation, and meaningful player experiences.
• Additional compensation, benefits, and employment terms may be discussed as part of the hiring process.