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Zynga

Principal Game Designer - Racing

London Full-Time 48000 - 84000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible

At a Glance

Tasks: Lead the design of CSR3’s economy and progression systems for an engaging player experience.
Company: Join Zynga, a global leader in interactive entertainment with over 6 billion game downloads.
Benefits: Enjoy flexible working hours, competitive salary, and generous holiday leave.
Why this job: Be part of a creative team shaping award-winning games in a supportive environment.
Qualifications: Experience in systems design for mobile games and strong quantitative skills required.
Other info: Hybrid work model with 3 days in London office; passion for racing games is a bonus.

The predicted salary is between 48000 - 84000 £ per year.

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Level Up Your Career with Zynga!
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.
From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille, Words With Friends, Zynga Poker, Game of Thrones Slots Casino, Wizard of Oz Slots, Hit it Rich! Slots, Wonka Slots, Top Eleven, Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, Merge Dragons!, CSR Racing, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Match Factory, and Color Block Jam—plus many more!
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you\’re spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation—and where you can take your career to the next level.
Join us and be part of the play!
Our Racing business is responsible for the CSR Racing franchise, including the #1 racing game on mobile, CSR2 and the groundbreaking next installment, CSR3. We are one of the most ambitious, successful, and creatively inclusive studio groups in the world. Based across two locations – London and Bangalore – the team loves welcoming diverse, humble, straightforward and ambitious talent, aspiring for award-winning excellence. People who want to find a place where they will be supported and encouraged to do the best work of their career.
We embrace a hybrid work environment. Within this role you will work 3 days per week in our London office and the remaining days at home.
Position Overview
As Principal Game Designer on CSR3, you will take ownership of the game’s systems – particularly its economy and progression mechanics. Your mission is to architect and drive a robust, engaging, and sustainable game ecosystem that embraces the modern trends we see today across the industry\’s character Gacha collection games. This leadership role demands a balance of vision, data-informed decision-making, and hands-on collaboration with cross-disciplinary partners.
What You\’ll Do

Systems & Economy: Lead design, tuning and evolution of CSR3’s economy, including multi-currency setups, progression loops, rewards, sinks, and monetisation systems.
Collection & Gacha Systems: Define and balance gacha mechanics for unlocking and upgrading vehicles, parts, and meta resources.
Design Strategy: Shape long and short-term progression pacing – from new player onboarding to endgame mastery. Ensuring motivation and retention across player segments.
Meta Progression Design: Ensure synergy between racing gameplay and meta advancement, rewarding both skill and investment.
Data & Live Ops: Partner closely with Product and Analytics teams to monitor KPIs, player behaviour, and live metrics. Drive iterative tuning and real-time responses for balancing and live events.
Tooling & Implementation: Collaborate with engineering to define requirements for economy tuning tools, dashboards, and simulation frameworks. Participate in modelling and forecasting economically impactful scenarios.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Communicate design intentions clearly across teams- Game Design, Product, Monetisation, Analytics, Engineering, Live Operations. Ensure cohesive vision and smooth implementation.
Mentoring & Guidance: Provide leadership and mentorship to fellow designers, fostering a culture of best practices, creative pressure, and collaborative excellence.

What You Bring

Demonstrate experience in systems/economy design for live F2P mobile or mid-core titles – preferably with economy ownership in a shipped game.
Strong quantitative acumen – advanced Excel, modelling, numeracy; scripting or database tooling experience is a plus.
Deep understanding of F2P psychology and monetisation mechanics – comfortable balancing business and player satisfaction.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to work effectively across disciplines.

Bonus Points

A passion for racing games or motorsports is a nice-to-have but not essential.
Familiarity with mobile character gacha games.
Have played or have familiarity with CSR2.

What We Offer You

Competitive salary and discretionary annual bonus scheme
26 days holiday, plus bank holidays & 2 paid personal days
6 months fully paid maternity/adoption leave and 16 weeks fully paid paternity leave (eligibility criteria applies)
Pension plan, with a double matching employer contribution
Private medical & dental insurance and healthcare cash plan
Life insurance, personal accident insurance and income protection
Mental health and neurodiversity support programs
Company Employee Stock Purchase Plan (eligibility criteria applies)
Fitness reimbursement plan, worth £600 per annum
Flexible working hours
Weekly happy hours, seasonal parties and monthly social events
Annual rail season ticket advance and cycle to work scheme

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. Please contact us at to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.
Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga’s in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).

Seniority level

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Job function

Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology
Industries

Computer Games

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