Lead Level Designer

Sumo India are looking for Lead Level Designers of all levels to join our growing team of designers focused on building robust and cohesive levels and gameplay experiences for a variety of multi-platform titles, in collaboration with our UK based teams.
As a Lead Level Designer at Sumo, you will be responsible for creating engaging, readable, and performant gameplay spaces that support the game’s vision, mechanics, narrative, and technical constraints. Working closely with technical designers and environment artists, you will prototype, build, iterate, and polish levels to a high standard of quality.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Design, Art, Code, Production, and Audio teams to define and deliver level experiences in line with the project vision.
• Craft the second-to-second and moment-to-moment gameplay experience through spatial design, pacing and player flow.
• Build and implement world and level spaces, integrating missions, level objects, gameplay mechanics, combat and narrative elements as needed.
• Engage in playtesting and feedback loops to capture player-centric insights and inform iterative improvements.
• Work closely with Technical Design to ensure that content is robust and implemented efficiently, and that it meets performance, memory and technical requirements.
  
  Level-Specific Expectations
  
  
• Lead / Principal Level Designer
  • Defines project Level Design standards, work flows, and best practices.
  • Leads other Level Designers within the project or studio.
  • Works closely with Direction to uphold Game Vision.
  • Drives innovation and creative thinking in the Level Design field.

Requirements

Essential

• Understanding of Level Design theory and concepts such spatial design, player navigation, pacing, and encounter flow, appropriate to seniority.
• Experience working with industry‑standard game engines and design tools.
• Fluency in English with excellent communication and feedback skills, both written and verbal.

Desirable

• Professional experience in Game Development, in the field of Level Design.
• Experience collaborating with outsourced or external development teams in multiple time-zones.
• A background spanning varying genres such as open world, action-adventure, platforming and/or racing titles
• Familiarity with performance, memory, and technical constraints in world building.

Benefits

Financial: Annual bonus, an employee referral scheme, 1st time home buyer bonus, Wedding bonus.

Work-life balance: Hybrid work model, Flexible working, 22 contractual days holiday, 8 festive holidays, 4 statutory holidays, birthday day-off, 4 weeks of paternity leave, Maternity leave as per law, and options to buy or sell up to a week of annual leave*.

Health and Wellbeing: Health insurance, life insurance, Mental health service, critical illness cover*, and funded flu vaccines/eye tests.

Personal Development: Structured pathways, regular appraisals, annual salary reviews, 5 learning days per annum, access to on demand Sumo Developers Conference learning SDCXtra.

Extra Perks: A variety of in-studio perks, regular care packages, studio days out (family welcome), sabbaticals (at 5 years of service), and an annual gaming subscription.