Job description

At Gardens Interactive, we're building games centered on connection, collective adventure, and emergent stories. We believe the spirit with which we build games is reflected in the experiences our players have. The way we collaborate, solve problems, navigate uncertainty, and care for one another ultimately shapes the worlds we create. We're creating magical, shared experiences that bring players together and we know those experiences come from teams that are curious, resilient, ambitious, and deeply committed to one another. We're a fully remote studio that embraces collaboration, thoughtful iteration, and the courage to explore new ideas. If you're excited by solving difficult problems with kind, talented teammates, and want to help build worlds where friendships flourish, we'd love to meet you. As a Technical Level Designer, you will create worlds and sandboxes filled with opportunities to play. You are a level designer by craft, with the technical skills to build gameplay features in Unreal Engine using Blueprints and/or C++. You will create new world affordances: gameplay verbs, activities, challenges, and interactions that invite players to experiment and engage with their surroundings. You will prototype, validate, iterate on, and deliver these features, then use them to build levels that encourage exploration, problem-solving, and memorable multiplayer moments. A Day In The Life: - Rapidly prototype and validate new gameplay verbs, activities, and environmental interactions in Unreal Engine for online multiplayer. - Build and refine levels using the mechanics and tools you create alongside existing systems, hazards, and enemies. - Playtest with the team to understand how players discover and use these affordances, then refine levels and features to encourage experimentation and memorable moments. What You’ll Do: - Own the design, implementation, debugging, polish, and maintenance of interactive world features and environmental gameplay toys that offer new choices, challenges, and benefits. Creature and NPC behaviors are outside this role. - Build levels from blockout through delivery, shaping flow, pacing, navigation, and readability across exploration, puzzles, traversal, and encounters. - Create reusable, configurable gameplay components and tools that help designers build and iterate on levels efficiently. - Rapidly prototype and playtest ideas to validate their potential, refine features, and manage scope and complexity. - Collaborate across disciplines to align with design direction, integrate player abilities and creature encounters, and meet technical requirements. - Partner with Engineering to resolve performance issues and ensure reliable multiplayer behavior. - Keep implementations organized and document features and tools so the team can use, tune, and maintain them. What You’ll Bring: - Strong level design fundamentals in spatial composition, flow, pacing, and player guidance for open-world exploration and multiplayer play. - At least one shipped game as a level designer on a multidisciplinary team. - Proficiency in Unreal Engine Blueprints and/or C++, with the ability to independently prototype, implement, and debug gameplay features. - Experience building levels and authoring collision and navigation in Unreal Engine. - Strong playtesting and iteration habits, with an understanding of how design shapes player behavior, cooperation, and relationships. - Clear communication, strong collaboration, and the judgment to work independently, recognize constraints, and seek support when needed. Nice to Have: - Experience building reusable level design tools, modular gameplay kits, or procedural workflows in Unreal Engine. - Experience designing systemic puzzles, physics-based interactions, or environmental features that support multiple solutions and emergent multiplayer play. - Experience profiling and optimizing gameplay scripts and level content. The Team: - This role reports to the Design Manager. How We Work We believe great games are built by people who care deeply about both the work and one another. Our values guide how we collaborate, solve problems, make decisions, and grow together. They're practical behaviors, not slogans, and they're part of how we hire, give feedback, and support one another every day. We're looking for teammates who are excited to: - Stay curious and ask thoughtful questions. - Adapt when plans change. - Exercise good judgment rather than chase perfection. - Care for the success of the whole team, not just their own work. - Pursue ambitious goals while remaining humble enough to keep learning. - Commit fully to the shared adventure we're building together. You'll Thrive Here If... - You enjoy asking questions before jumping to conclusions. - You adapt comfortably when priorities evolve. - You balance ambition with pragmatism. - You communicate thoughtfully and seek feedback. - You care about helping your teammates succeed. - You embrace uncertainty as part of creating something new. Please Note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States or Canada. Gardens cannot assist with work authorizations or work visas. Applicants must also be willing to work within North American time zones (EST–PST). Our Interview Process (all interviews are 1 hour video calls on Google Meet unless otherwise noted) - Step 1: People Operations Introduction - Step 2: Hiring Manager Interview - Step 3: Panel Interview (3 - 1 Hour Sections) - Step 4: Gardeners Debrief - Step 5: Offer Life at Gardens Gardens is a fully distributed game studio founded by creators behind titles including Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Dustforce, Ashen, Guild Wars 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more. We're developing our flagship project: a multiplayer fantasy adventure inspired by the friendships, discoveries, and unforgettable stories that emerge when people explore together. We believe the best ideas come from teams with diverse experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and ways of thinking. Every Gardener helps shape not only what we build, but how we build it. Each of us arrives by a different path, bringing unique experiences, perspectives, and ways of seeing the world. That range is part of what makes our games and our studio better than any one of us could build alone. Gardens Offers: - Competitive salaries and pay transparency - Stock options - Medical, dental, and vision coverage (100% for individuals, 90% for dependents) - Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, and additional benefits - 401(k) contributions (U.S.) / RRSP + DPSP contributions (Canada) - Paid parental leave - A fully distributed remote studio across North American time zones Benefits and perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Gardens and the country in which you work. Physical Requirements: This is a primarily sedentary, remote role requiring the ability to remain stationary and perform computer-based work for extended periods, including sustained use of monitors, keyboards, mice, and game controllers for a minimum of six hours per day. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role. Gardens is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. Encouragement: We believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. If you're excited about this role but don't meet every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. Research consistently shows that talented people, particularly women, people of color, and those from historically underrepresented communities are less likely to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. We care far more about curiosity, growth, and a willingness to learn than checking every box. Scam Note: Unfortunately, scammers have impersonated Gardens Interactive by offering fake employment opportunities intended to collect financial information. Official communication from our team will always come from a @gardens.dev gardens.dev email address. We will never ask for financial information during the hiring process. If you're ever unsure whether a message is legitimate, please contact us directly through LinkedIn or careers@gardens.dev

Requirements

Must-haves

Rapidly prototype and validate new gameplay verbs, activities, and environmental interactions in Unreal Engine for online multiplayer.
Build and refine levels using the mechanics and tools you create alongside existing systems, hazards, and enemies.
Playtest with the team to understand how players discover and use these affordances, then refine levels and features to encourage experimentation and memorable moments.
Build levels from blockout through delivery, shaping flow, pacing, navigation, and readability across exploration, puzzles, traversal, and encounters.
Create reusable, configurable gameplay components and tools that help designers build and iterate on levels efficiently.
Rapidly prototype and playtest ideas to validate their potential, refine features, and manage scope and complexity.
Collaborate across disciplines to align with design direction, integrate player abilities and creature encounters, and meet technical requirements.
Partner with Engineering to resolve performance issues and ensure reliable multiplayer behavior.
Keep implementations organized and document features and tools so the team can use, tune, and maintain them.
Strong level design fundamentals in spatial composition, flow, pacing, and player guidance for open-world exploration and multiplayer play.
At least one shipped game as a level designer on a multidisciplinary team.
Proficiency in Unreal Engine Blueprints and/or C++, with the ability to independently prototype, implement, and debug gameplay features.
Experience building levels and authoring collision and navigation in Unreal Engine.
Strong playtesting and iteration habits, with an understanding of how design shapes player behavior, cooperation, and relationships.
Clear communication, strong collaboration, and the judgment to work independently, recognize constraints, and seek support when needed.
This role reports to the Design Manager.
We're looking for teammates who are excited to:
Stay curious and ask thoughtful questions.
Adapt when plans change.
Exercise good judgment rather than chase perfection.
Care for the success of the whole team, not just their own work.

Nice-to-haves

Experience building reusable level design tools, modular gameplay kits, or procedural workflows in Unreal Engine.
Experience designing systemic puzzles, physics-based interactions, or environmental features that support multiple solutions and emergent multiplayer play.
Experience profiling and optimizing gameplay scripts and level content.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Platform: ashby
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Parental Leave