Experienced Technical Designer (Player & Combat)

Description Job type: Fixed-term contract - 4 Months Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week Salary: £27,500 to £35,000 FTE, pro-rata for 4 month contract Location: Fully remote, UK-based Reporting to: Project Lead About us Cross Key Games is a new independent studio based in the UK. We create distinctive, systems driven games with strong player ownership and our ambition is to build memorable original IP. The project and this opportunity This is a hands-on prototype project with a short development schedule. We’re looking for an experienced designer who can hit the ground running, work independently, collaborate closely with the team, and turn ideas into playable results quickly. We have an early prototype and are looking to take its systems, magic combat and gameplay to the next stage. This position will own the player experience, including controls, movement, combat, abilities and moment-to-moment gameplay. You’ll shape how the game feels to play, taking ideas from concept through to implementation and iterating quickly through hands-on testing and feedback. Core Responsibilities • Own the design and feel of the player experience, including controls, movement, spellcasting combat, abilities and moment-to-moment gameplay. • Design, prototype and iterate on player and magic combat systems, taking ideas from concept through to playable implementation. • Build and iterate directly in Unreal Engine 5 using Blueprints, creating and tuning gameplay systems and prototypes hands-on. • Establish responsive, satisfying gameplay feel, using hands-on testing and iteration to quickly identify and solve issues. • Work closely within a small dev team to ensure the player experience and wider game systems work together cohesively.