Principal Level Designer

Company Description

The Molasses Flood is the newest member of the CD PROJEKT group, and is located in Boston, MA. We were founded by industry veterans in 2014, and since then have created The Flame in the Flood and Drake Hollow. We’re currently working on an ambitious and exciting new project and are growing our team across all departments. We value every voice on the team, open communication and transparency, and run a studio based on mutual respect and kindness between all members and levels of the team. If this sounds like the type of team you’d like to be a part of, we encourage you to apply. If you require any specific accommodations as part of our application process, please let us know so we can try to provide for your needs.

Job Description

The Molasses Flood is looking for a Principal  Level Designer to help us create fun, functional and beautiful spaces for our next title. 

The Level Design team will create levels that employ both hand-crafted and procedural elements, ensuring consistency across both. You will also work collaboratively with the systems design, engineering, art and narrative teams to make sure that the spaces you create are beautiful, performant, fun and tell the story of the game.

Our ideal candidate has a background in production level design, a masterful understanding of level design principles, a strong technical background, and familiarity with scripting systems. As a Principal Designer, you will own and drive a large part of the game experience, be it a level or a feature, and set the quality bar for your discipline. 

This is a full-time salaried position, reporting to the Lead Level Designer. This job could be performed either working a hybrid model out of our office in the greater Boston area, or remote within the contiguous US states. Relocation assistance is available for moving to Boston area. All employees of The Molasses Flood work on a schedule aligned to US eastern time.

Responsibilities 

• Oversee the creation of hand-crafted environments for exploration, combat and storytelling across the game
• Craft unique spaces where gameplay flow and visual composition form memorable experiences
• Create level chunks to be recombined and arranged by a procedural system
• Coordinate across disciplines with engineers, artists, sound designers, and production in managing the prioritization, implementation, and scope of the game’s environments
• Provide feedback and guidance on procedurally-generated environments
• Deliver expert technical advice, direction and implementation to enhance level performance and playability
• Proactively suggesting improvements to gameplay systems and principles
• Provide mentorship and guidance to other members of the level design team

Qualifications

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years game industry Level Design experience
• Excellent understanding of level design fundamentals and the role of level design in the overall player experience
• Ability to take ownership of areas of level production, from start to finish
• Ability to create map layouts on all stages – from simple drawings to fully functional levels 
• Ability to use all elements of the game world, including level geometry, texturing, lighting, sound and VFX to craft unique player experiences
• Extensive knowledge of current game titles, as well as movies and other visual arts, to use as reference for crafting and communicating original ideas
• Experience with scripting systems, either visual (such as Blueprint) or text-based (such as Python, Lua, or C#)
• The ability to communicate fluently with engineering, art, narrative and production
• Candidates must have a US work permit or citizenship
• Curiosity, kindness, and a positive and professional can-do attitude

Nice to Haves

• Experience with procedural systems, especially for environments
• Unreal Engine 4/5 experience

The expected salary range for this position is $135,000 to $155,000 USD, negotiable. Salary offered will be based upon a number of factors, including but not limited to: skill set, years and quality of experience, and suitability for the role.

Additional Information

• 100% company paid medical, dental, and vision plans available - for employees and dependents

• 401K with matching

• Company paid long & short term disability plans, and life insurance

• Profit sharing plan

• Unlimited PTO and flexible schedule

• Environmental company paid offset of employees’ carbon footprint via Wren.co

• Some positions available for Remote work

• Positions worked in office are hybrid: M/W/F work from home & T/Th work in office, with lunch provided on