Senior Game Designer

Senior Game Designer

Full-Time 42000 - 84000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
ZYNGA INC

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and develop exciting game features while collaborating with a creative team.
  • Company: Join Zynga, a global leader in interactive entertainment with a fun and innovative culture.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, private medical care, and a company bonus scheme.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on gaming experiences and unleash your creativity.
  • Qualifications: Previous game design experience and strong communication skills required.
  • Other info: Hybrid work model with a vibrant office environment and great career growth opportunities.

The predicted salary is between 42000 - 84000 £ per year.

At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take‑Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times—connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences.

Who We Are: Gram Games is the studio behind popular titles like 1010!, Six!, Merge Dragons!, and Merge Magic!, with more exciting projects in the pipeline. We are proudly part of the Zynga & Take‑Two Interactive family. We do things differently here: we work in small self‑managing teams, giving you an incredible amount of ownership, autonomy, and impact. At Gram, everyone is expected to have a razor‑sharp focus on creating a tangible impact on their team, their work environment, and on the overall company strategy. If you are motivated by autonomy, constant improvement, collaboration, and a sense of belonging, this is the place for you. At Gram we embrace a hybrid work environment. Within this role, you would work 2 days per week in our London office and the remaining days at home.

Position Overview: As a Senior Game Designer, you will be responsible for new features, up to and including bold beat scope and impact. You will take on more complex design challenges and lead the development of key game mechanics, levels, and features. As an adept in systems, mechanics, and player experience; you will be accountable for maintaining coherence and balance across entire game. Support the leaders by providing experiential insights from the player perspective.

What You’ll Do:

  • Ideate and design new levels, gameplay, systems or features with minimal supervision
  • Collaborate with developers, artists, product managers & other stakeholders to integrate design elements into the game
  • Ensure technical feasibility, clear visual direction and high ROI from design solutions
  • Conduct research and apply competition insights to support design concepts and ideas
  • Create design solutions to drive business impact while leveraging player experience and game KPI’s
  • Analyze and deconstruct competitor games to stay up to date on the market & share actionable insights & learnings
  • Present compelling design pitches & project visions to stakeholders
  • Create & maintain comprehensive game design documentation for the team
  • Tune and balance complex gameplay mechanics to ensure an engaging player experience
  • Playtest designs, conduct player research and iterate on designs based on feedback
  • Prototype, propose new designs, and develop solutions to improve existing systems and address complex design problems, ensuring all efforts are explicitly aligned with the high‑level strategic goals of the game
  • Ensure a high level of quality to achieve the best player experience

What You Bring:

  • Previous experience as a Game Designer
  • Established verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
  • Ability to understand and translate players’ requirements into product
  • Clear cross‑functional communication at the team level, capable of explaining and evangelizing a design in conversation with peers

What We Offer You:

  • Highly competitive salary
  • Private medical care
  • Company bonus scheme
  • Relocation assistance for those moving to the UK
  • Awesome onsite chef serving breakfast, lunch, and lots of treats (naughty and nice)
  • Life insurance and a favorable pension scheme
  • Healthcare cash plan including dental and optical coverage
  • Amazing tech to work with and consoles to play and relax with everywhere you look!

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process.

Senior Game Designer employer: ZYNGA INC

At Zynga, we pride ourselves on fostering a vibrant work culture that champions creativity and collaboration, making it an exceptional place for a Senior Game Designer to thrive. With a hybrid work model allowing flexibility between our London office and home, employees enjoy a supportive environment enriched with competitive salaries, private medical care, and unique perks like an onsite chef and cutting-edge technology. Join us to not only advance your career but also to be part of a team that values innovation and the joy of play.
ZYNGA INC

Contact Detail:

ZYNGA INC Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior Game Designer

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at Zynga and Gram Games on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral, which can really boost your chances.

✨Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio that highlights your best game design projects. Make sure to include detailed descriptions of your design process and the impact your work had on player experience.

✨Tip Number 3

Prepare for the interview by playing Zynga games! Get familiar with their mechanics and design choices. This will help you speak their language and show that you're genuinely interested in their products.

✨Tip Number 4

Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team and ready to be part of the play!

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Game Designer

Game Design
Level Design
Gameplay Systems Design
Player Experience Analysis
Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams
Technical Feasibility Assessment
Market Research and Competitive Analysis
Design Documentation Creation
Gameplay Mechanics Tuning
Playtesting and Iteration
Communication Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Prototyping
Stakeholder Presentation Skills

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Your Passion for Gaming: When you're writing your application, let your love for games shine through! Share your favourite titles and what makes them special to you. We want to see that you’re not just a designer, but a player who understands the magic of gaming.

Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application for the Senior Game Designer role. Highlight your relevant experience and skills that align with our job description. We appreciate when candidates take the time to connect their background to what we’re looking for!

Be Clear and Concise: Keep your application straightforward and to the point. Use clear language and avoid jargon unless it’s necessary. We want to understand your ideas without having to decode them, so make it easy for us!

Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our official website! It’s the best way to ensure it gets into the right hands. Plus, it shows us you’re serious about joining our team at Zynga!

How to prepare for a job interview at ZYNGA INC

✨Know Your Games

Before the interview, dive deep into Zynga's portfolio, especially titles like 1010! and Merge Dragons!. Understand their mechanics, player engagement strategies, and what makes them successful. This knowledge will help you discuss how your design ideas can enhance their existing games.

✨Showcase Your Design Process

Be ready to walk through your design process during the interview. Prepare examples of past projects where you ideated, prototyped, and iterated on game features. Highlight how you collaborated with cross-functional teams to bring your designs to life, as this aligns with their emphasis on teamwork.

✨Player-Centric Insights

Zynga values player experience, so come prepared with insights from your previous work. Discuss how you've used player feedback to refine game mechanics or levels. This shows that you understand the importance of balancing fun and strategy in game design.

✨Pitch Like a Pro

Practice presenting your design ideas clearly and compellingly. Think of it as pitching a new game feature to stakeholders. Use visuals if possible, and be ready to answer questions about your design choices. This will demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively, which is crucial for the role.

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