SmartPixel Logo

SmartPixel

Senior Systems Game Designer

Reposted 4 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
In-Office or Remote
Hiring Remotely in Montréal, QC
Senior level
In-Office or Remote
Hiring Remotely in Montréal, QC
Senior level
Design and prototype engaging game systems, collaborating across teams to deliver features that enhance player storytelling and experience.
The summary above was generated by AI
Company Description

Storycraft is an AI-powered, mobile-first social sandbox where players don't just play stories—they build them. Think Minecraft meets The Sims meets Wattpad: a new genre of creative, social storytelling where AI helps players bring their imagination to life.

Backed by top-tier investors who have invested in Open AI, Unity, Supercell and others, we're building a platform that reimagines storytelling as play—combining intuitive creation tools, emotionally expressive characters, and collaborative world-building.

Job Description

🎮 The Role

We're hiring a Senior Systems Game Designer who thrives at the intersection of systems and storytelling. You'll design features that feel intuitive, expressive, and alive, helping shape how players build, interact, and grow inside Storycraft.

This is a senior individual contributor leadership role. You'll lead through hands-on design, working closely with product, engineering, AI, and art to bring new systems and experiences to life. From crafting loops to creative tools to social systems—you'll help translate vision into gameplay that players love.

We're looking for an experienced systems design expert with a track record of building thoughtful, emotionally engaging features, systems, and game economies that support player agency, achievement, and long-term engagement.

✅ What You'll Do

  • Help define short/med/long-term gameplay loops, reward structures, and core game systems
  • Design, prototype, and implement a wide range of game systems: creative tools, progression systems, social play, crafting, and economy loops
  • Translate goals into specs, wireframes, UX flows, and playable concepts
  • Partner effectively with PMs and collaborate cross-functionally to ship elegant, expressive features that support our unique game model
  • Infuse systems with personality and narrative hooks to support emergent storytelling
  • Design with player motivation and autonomy in mind—using research frameworks like PENS/SDT

Qualifications

🧠 You Bring

  • 5+ years experience designing features and systems in leading mobile free-to-play games
  • Strong background in strategy, life sim, sandbox, or creativity games
  • AI-curious or AI-fluent: excited to explore generative tools and how they empower players
  • Expertise in at least one of: feature design, progression, economy, crafting, or UGC systems
  • Ability to think visually—comfortable wire-framing, prototyping, and communicating in flows and mockups
  • Track record of translating high-level ideas into features that ship, perform, and evolve
  • Creative sensibility: you think in tone, story, mood, and expression—not just mechanics
  • Experience collaborating with engineers and product managers to tune, test, and deliver
  • Startup-ready: adaptable, fast, deeply collaborative, and outcome-driven

🧩 Bonus Points For

  • Based in Canada, and/or ET timezone
  • Experience designing creative tools, sandbox mechanics, or social storytelling
  • Familiarity with Unity, scripting tools, or light prototyping
  • A personal creative practice (writing, visual art, design, role-play, etc.)
  • Have prior startup experience

Additional Information

💡 What It Means to Build at Storycraft

This isn't just a job—it's a rare opportunity to co-create a new category of game at the intersection of storytelling, AI, and player expression. We're a lean, high-trust team building fast, learning constantly, and thinking long-term. That means:

  • You'll wear multiple hats. We solve problems, not just build features. You'll shape systems, tools, and how we work.
  • You'll lead through doing. Strategy is important—but execution is where the magic happens.
  • You'll be scrappy and smart. We use AI, feedback loops, and focused iteration to do more with less.
  • You'll have real ownership. You won't be "supporting" the product—you'll be shaping it every day.
  • You'll grow faster than anywhere else. This is a career-defining opportunity to learn, stretch, and contribute at a level few companies allow.
  • You'll have equity with real upside. We're building something ambitious. If we win, you win.
  • You'll make an impact that matters. Players already say Storycraft "feels like magic." You'll help scale that magic into something unforgettable.

We're not looking for passengers—we're looking for buildersowners, and creative leaders who want to leave their mark.

How to apply

Write a short introductory email and tell us about yourself. Attach your resume and portfolio, it should include examples of games and features you've product managed and shipped. We love to see metrics and case studies too if you have them. If your experience isn't exactly right but you still think you should work with us, go for it, you never know!

Similar Jobs

13 Hours Ago
Easy Apply
In-Office or Remote
Canada
Easy Apply
Expert/Leader
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Hardware • Healthtech • Software
The VP of Quality leads the development and maintenance of the Quality Management System (QMS), ensures compliance with ISO 13485, collaborates with engineering on product quality, and develops a high-performing quality team.
Top Skills: CapaFmeaIec 62304Iso 13485Plm Software
13 Hours Ago
In-Office or Remote
CA
Expert/Leader
Expert/Leader
Blockchain • eCommerce • Fintech • Payments • Software • Financial Services • Cryptocurrency
Design, build, and operate production ML decision systems to detect and prevent payment fraud, account takeover, scams, and other abuse. Integrate diverse signals into low-latency serving and batch scoring, own feature pipelines and model lifecycle, develop AI-assisted triage and feedback loops, and partner cross-functionally to balance fraud reduction with legitimate customer access.
Top Skills: Cloud InfrastructureData LakehouseData WarehouseEmbeddingsFeature StoreJavaKafkaKotlinKubernetesLightgbmModel ServingMonitoringObservabilityPythonPyTorchSQLTensorFlowWorkflow OrchestrationXgboost
13 Hours Ago
In-Office or Remote
CA
Senior level
Senior level
Blockchain • eCommerce • Fintech • Payments • Software • Financial Services • Cryptocurrency
In this role, you will lead AI personalization initiatives, develop AI/ML models for user experience, collaborate across teams, and ensure rigorous development practices.
Top Skills: AWSDatabricksPysparkPyTorch

What you need to know about the Calgary Tech Scene

Employees can spend up to one-third of their life at work, so choosing the right company is crucial, not just for the job itself but for the company culture as well. While startups often offer dynamic culture and growth opportunities, large corporations provide benefits like career development and networking, especially appealing to recent graduates. Fortunately, Calgary stands out as a hub for both, recognized as one of Startup Genome's Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems, while also playing host to a number of multinational enterprises. In Calgary, job seekers can find a wide range of opportunities.

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account