Senior Technical Designer

This is a hybrid/ onsite position.

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Parts I and II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we’re busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we’d love to find talented individuals to join us.

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

What you will do:

• Prototyping, implementing, and owning gameplay scenarios, narrative sequences, interactive objects, AI behaviors, and other mechanics and systems.
• Communicating with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the areas you’re owning.
• Fostering team cohesion, advising design leadership regarding communication breakdowns and personality conflicts.
• Working with minimal supervision while keeping lead designers and directors well-informed.

What skills you will use:

• 5+ years of industry experience in Technical Design for games
• 2+ shipped games
• Significant programming ability (Computer Science undergraduate degree preferred)
• Deep understanding of narrative principles and how to convey emotion through gameplay
• Expertise in 3D math
• Fluent in C++, C#, Lua, or other text-based scripting language
• Ability to identify and act on opportunities for improvements to tools and workflows that can help the team be more efficient
• Self-starter with excellent communication and teamwork skills

Bonus Skills:

• Experience developing third-person action games

• Experience with the following areas of design

• Behavior Trees

• Narrative Gameplay Sequences

• Encounter Design

#LI-SP3

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.
In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package. Click here to learn more.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$145,100—$181,400 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

* Pitch, design, implement, and own enemy NPC archetypes. * Work with AI programmers to develop foundational NPC technology and implement/tune enemy AI behaviors. * Collaborate with animators to develop enemy locomotion, traversal, melee moves, and custom abilities. * Conceptualize, prototype, implement, tune, and balance gameplay mechanics and systems. * Communicate effectively with animation, programming, and art departments. * Write and maintain documentation for enemy archetypes. * Drive communication and collaboration for enemies designed and the levels they are in. * Facilitate playtesting and feedback sessions to iterate on combat systems. * Mentor junior designers and contribute to the growth of the design team. * 5+ years of industry experience in combat design and/or technical design for action-adventure or shooter games. * At least one shipped title as a combat designer or similar role. * Proficiency in using game engines and tools (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity) for combat implementation and design scripting (C#, Lua, Visual Scripting). * Strong leadership and mentoring skills.