Level Designer (4-month contract)

Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.

Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements.

At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.

Blackbird Interactive is looking for an experienced Level Designer to help build and deliver high-quality gameplay spaces for a third-person military tactical shooter. This role focuses on designing and building environments and combat spaces that support tactical decision-making, squad-based gameplay, and memorable military operations while delivering strong pacing, readability, and player agency.

You’ll work closely with art and engineering to create spaces that feel authentic, strategically engaging, and grounded in the game’s setting. The role involves collaborating with leadership to align content with the overall creative vision, while also owning a full level end-to-end, from initial layout through implementation, iteration, and polish. If you enjoy crafting combat spaces that support multiple tactical approaches, reward planning and execution, and create memorable gameplay experiences, this role could be a great fit for you!

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Responsibilities

Collaborate with art, engineering, and production to support and implement the established creative vision, raising questions or inconsistencies as they arise during development

Work within production schedules and constraints, implementing level content in a timely and iterative manner while communicating risks or dependencies to appropriate team members

Design and build levels end-to-end, including layout, combat encounters, traversal, pacing, player flow, and objectives

Create and implement tactical combat spaces that support flanking, cover usage, squad coordination, sightlines, and multiple approaches to objectives

Script and set up gameplay events, encounters, AI behaviors, triggers, and environmental interactions to support mission functionality and player experience

Test, debug, and iterate on levels regularly, identifying and resolving issues related to navigation, combat balance, progression blockers, readability, and edge cases

Respond constructively to feedback, refining layouts, encounters, pacing, and mission flow to improve clarity, challenge, and overall player experience

Maintain an understanding of core gameplay systems and AI behaviors, adjusting layouts and encounters to support tactical gameplay and multiple player approaches

Requirements

A minimum of 5 years of experience contributing to game development, with a strong focus on level design within action, shooter, or combat-focused games

Experience shipping at least one title, ideally within the shooter space, with an understanding of the full content lifecycle from implementation through polish

Comfort working independently on assigned content, with the ability to manage tasks, iterate on feedback, and solve implementation problems in a dynamic production environment

Strong collaboration and communication skills, including the ability to work closely with other designers, artists, engineers, and audio partners to deliver cohesive gameplay experiences

Familiarity with level editing and gameplay scripting in Unreal, with confidence building, debugging, and maintaining gameplay spaces directly in-engine

Strong understanding of combat space design, player navigation, encounter pacing, and environmental readability

Pluses

A passion for military fiction, tactical shooters, and squad-based gameplay

Appreciation for systemic gameplay and how level design supports multiple tactical approaches and emergent combat scenarios

An interest in cinematic mission design, including staging, composition, scripted moments, and environmental storytelling

Care about polish, clarity, and player comprehension, and enjoy iterating on spaces to improve navigation, combat readability, and overall gameplay experience

Curiosity about how level design, AI, and systems intersect to create cohesive, replayable combat experiences rather than isolated encounters

\n$80,000 - $90,000 a year
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