Lead Technical Level Designer

Job Description

The Lead Technical Level Designer is responsible for the quality, consistency, and efficiency of the technical production methods used by the Level Design team. 

Reporting to the World Lead, they organize, support, and guide the Technical Level Design team to provide Level Designers with the tools, workflows, and standards necessary to create coherent, robust, and well-controlled game environments. 

They work closely with the Lead Level Designer to translate gameplay intentions and design requirements into effective, maintainable technical solutions that are tailored to production constraints. 

She or He collaborates with the Technical Department, the Game Design Department, and the relevant technical teams to ensure that Level Design tools, pipelines, and methods align with the project’s technological standards. 

Beyond his/her own team, he/she actively contributes to World-level decisions and represents the technical challenges of Level Design to other disciplines within the project. 

Responsibilities 

Management of the Technical Level Design Team 

•    Organize the work of the Technical Level Design team and set production priorities.  

•    Support, mentor, and develop the skills of the Technical Level Designers.  

•    Provide regular, clear, and constructive feedback.  

•    Foster a team culture based on autonomy, accountability, and knowledge sharing.  

•    Identify technical risks that could impact production and quickly propose appropriate solutions.  

•    Ensure that deadlines, expected quality standards, and production methods are met. 

Collaboration within the World Team 

•    Build a day-to-day working relationship with the World Lead to align the technical needs of Level Design with production objectives, priorities, and capabilities. 

•    Work closely with the Lead Level Designer to translate gameplay intentions into robust, efficient, and sustainable technical solutions.  

•    Collaborate with other World Leads to define common production standards and ensure seamless collaboration across disciplines.  

•    Anticipate technical needs related to World updates and support their integration into Level Design workflows.  

•    Ensure that tools, pipelines, and methods allow Level Designers to focus on the quality of the player experience.  

•    Help define the technical standards applied to Level Design. 

Collaboration with the rest of the project 

•    Communicate Technical Level Design considerations to the Technical Director, World Director, Game Director, and Production.  

•    Collaborate with the Programming, Gameplay, Tech Art, QA, and other relevant teams to ensure the seamless integration of Level Design-related systems.  

•    Participate in balancing design goals, technical constraints, quality, and scheduling.  

•    Identify risks related to tools, pipelines, or production methods early on.  

•    Foster smooth communication between teams to facilitate the resolution of technical issues. 

Technical Excellence 

•    Define and maintain technical standards for level design in line with project requirements.  

•    Ensure the robustness, clarity, and sustainability of the workflows and tools used by level designers.  

•    Design and refine tools and methods to improve production efficiency.  

•    Reduce repetitive tasks and simplify processes, allowing creators to focus on the quality of the player experience.  

•    Actively participate in the continuous improvement of creation and integration pipelines.  

•    Document and share best practices to ensure consistent use of tools and methods.  

•    Stay abreast of technologies, tools, and practices that can improve Level Design production. 

Qualifications

Leadership 

•    Proven experience in Technical Level Design on AAA productions.  

•    Initial management experience or a strong ability to mentor and develop a technical team.  

•    Ability to unite a team around common goals.  

•    Ability to make decisions, mediate, and prioritize effectively.  

•    Excellent communication and collaboration skills. 

Technical Level Design Expertise 

•    Solid experience in creating and integrating game environments.  

•    Excellent understanding of level design, navigation, clarity, pacing, and spatial design.  

•    Proficiency with the tools and workflows required for level design content production.  

•    Good understanding of the technical constraints associated with AAA game engines and production pipelines.  

•    Ability to design simple, robust solutions tailored to the needs of creators.  

•    Experience with scripting, environment-related gameplay systems, or design tools.  

•    Ability to maintain a high level of quality in a complex production environment. 

Collaboration 

•    Ability to work daily with design, technical, and production teams.  

•    Understanding of gameplay, performance, and pipeline constraints.  

•    Ability to translate design requirements into concrete technical solutions.  

•    Ability to communicate effectively with technical and creative stakeholders. 

Personal Qualities 

The candidate stands out for: 

•    Strong creativity applied to developing effective technical solutions.  

•    A high degree of rigor in organizing, documenting, and monitoring production methods.  

•    The ability to adapt and adjust workflows when circumstances require it. 

•    Clear, constructive, and problem-solving-oriented communication. 

•    Fluency in English 

Additional Information

Founded in 1996, Ubisoft Annecy has developed many sagas, especially on Splinter Cell, Assassin’s Creed®, while focusing on multiplayer online and social aspects, and also on concrete game mandates such as Tom Clancy’s: The Division 2® and Ghost Recon Wildlands. We are now proud to have developed our own IP, Steep and more recently Riders Republic!

On top of our AAA production, we are working on innovation with a technological expertise hub around the Snowdrop engine pipeline, and Technology Group in collaboration with Ubisoft Montreal.

Located in one of the most dynamic regions of France, our Ubisoft studio is settled between lake and mountains, in the middle of Annecy, also known as the Venice of the Alps, 30 minutes away from Geneva International Airport. Having a studio with perpetual growth, we are focusing on our team members' commitment and team work. Our ambition relies on innovation and excellence with an ultimate purpose: our players' satisfaction !