Design

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Lead Gameplay Camera Designer to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

In this role, you will collaborate closely with the Art Director, Lead Designer and the Combat and Level Design teams to implement the unique camera vision of our game. The primary focus of the role will be the creation of in-game, player-controlled cameras and supporting development pipelines. You will also push the boundaries of your craft by exploring the latest emerging trends and creating solutions hand-tailored to player and business needs.

Responsibilities

• Design, set up and tune player-controlled gameplay cameras and camera systems.
• Use script to set up camera behaviors. Layout and hook up camera action triggers in game.
• Support player navigation, traversal and combat with a keen eye for the combination of composition and usability.
• Work closely with the combat and level teams to help create a smooth and seamless player experience.

Qualifications

• 2-5 years’ experience implementing in-game cameras.
• Extensive experience with 3D Studio Max (preferred) or similar 3D package.
• Working knowledge of camera controls from various game engines, including scripting.
• Interest / background in photography.
• Maintain a strong animation and technical skill set.
• The ideal candidate is a self-sufficient, technical problem solver.
• Well-developed communication skills and strong work ethic.

Preferred Skills

• 5+ years of industry experience, with at least one shipped AAA title
• Working experience as a Cinematographer in games, film or television

Overview

The Senior Systems Designer works with the Systems Lead and the rest of the project team to support the creation and maintenance of core game mechanics and non-combat systems.  They are responsible for mechanisms which retain players’ short term and long term interest in the product and in facilitating social interactions between players, while adhering to team values and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Maintain numerous existing in-game systems as assigned (Examples: Achievements, Itemization, Crafting, Housing, Justice, Itemization, etc)
• Develop expertise on all in-game systems behavior and interdependencies including proprietary toolsets
• Create and maintain documentation for new and existing systems
• Coordinate work initiatives and priorities across multiple feature teams
• Function effectively as a leader and/or team member in collaborative, cross-disciplinary feature development teams
• Identify and develop opportunities for fair monetization and business practices
• Utilize business intelligence reporting to drive data informed decisions
• Provide, receive and integrate feedback on all aspects of game development
• Any other duties assigned by the Systems Lead, Lead Gameplay Designer and Creative Director

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience developing or maintaining systems in a shipped or live game
• Experience developing and playing MMORPGs
• Proficient with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word or equivalent
• Technical writing familiarity with close attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Familiarity with Agile development methodology and experience with Product Ownership a plus

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is looking for a Senior Content Designer to work with our team - working with the content, world building, animation, audio, vfx, and gameplay teams to provide fun, and well-conceived stories and  locations for players to experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and script quests and gameplay for Elder Scrolls Online, with a focus on storytelling and pacing
• Includes working in our proprietary toolset 

Qualifications

• Minimum 3-5 years of experience working in a designer capacity
• Experience telling interesting stories within a provided framework
• Ability to clearly exchange and encourage communication across a multi-discipline team
• Experience with designing, building, and populating game worlds
• Experience scripting or programming complex interactivity
• Excellent sense of 3D game space and flow

Preferred Skills

• Experience with modular kits
• Creative writing
• Experience in MMO development
• Leadership and mentoring experience

Overview

The Content Designer will work with the content, world building, animation, audio, and gameplay teams to provide fun, and well-conceived stories/locations for players to experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and script quests/gameplay with a focus on storytelling and pacing
• Execute other game designs and design revisions when necessary
• Includes working in our proprietary toolset 
• Assist the Live team in developing and maintaining event-related content for The Elder Scrolls Online

Qualifications

• Minimum 1-2 years of experience working in a designer capacity
• Storytelling experience
• Excellent sense of 3D game space and game flow
• Experience with designing, building, and populating game levels
• Experience scripting or programming complex interactivity
• Excellent communication and documentation skills
• Experience with MMOs

Preferred Skills

• Experience with modular kits a plus
• Creative writing a plus

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is hiring a Systems Designer to work with the Systems Lead and the rest of the project team to support the creation and maintenance of core game mechanics and non-combat systems within The Elder Scrolls Online.  They are responsible for player retention mechanisms and facilitating in-game social interactions, while adhering to team values and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Maintain numerous existing in-game systems as assigned (Examples: Achievements, Itemization, Crafting, Housing, Justice, etc)
• Develop expertise on all in-game systems behavior and interdependencies including proprietary toolsets
• Create and maintain documentation for new and existing systems
• Function effectively as a team member in collaborative, cross-disciplinary feature development teams
• Identify and develop opportunities for fair monetization and business practices
• Utilize business intelligence reporting to drive data informed decisions
• Provide, receive and integrate feedback on all aspects of game development
• Assist the Live team in developing and maintaining event-related systems for The Elder Scrolls Online
• Other duties assigned 

Qualifications

• 2+ years’ experience developing or maintaining systems in a shipped or live game
• Experience playing MMORPGs
• Proficient with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word or equivalent
• Technical writing familiarity with close attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills    

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with Agile development methodology a plus
• Viewable portfolio of previous work a plus

Overview

We are hiring an Encounter Designer to build interactive combat scenarios that engage small groups of players and support solo quest content in The Elder Scrolls Online. Our ideal candidate is passionate about storytelling in a multiplayer environment and finding new ways to delight and terrify players of all skill levels.

Responsibilities

• Design and populate overland encounters in The Elder Scrolls Online
• Script AI combat behaviors and abilities in our proprietary toolset
• Stage monsters in new and interesting environments
• Communicate regularly with artists, writers, designers, and engineers
• Assist the Live team in developing and maintaining event-related encounters and supporting the live game

Qualifications

• 1+ years games industry experience
• Excellent storytelling and visual composition skills
• Experience playing massively multiplayer online games
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity with Microsoft Excel or other data management software
• Motivated and organized, with strong attention to detail

Preferred Skills

• 3+ years games industry experience
• Photoshop or other image editing software experience
• Programming or scripting experience
• Demonstrable mod experience
• Animation background
• Familiarity with ESO

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Lead Cinematics Designer to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

This role will work closely with narrative designers and gameplay content designers in creating in-game cinematic moments and player driven conversations presented with cinematic quality. A developer in this role is responsible for scene choreography, camera setup, and basic lighting setups for player driven conversations and in-game cinematic moments. In more complex content, the Lead Cinematics Designer will collaborate in creating storyboards. Additionally, a developer in this role will help define the tools and workflow needs for creating cinematics moments and player driven conversations in a new, industry leading game engine.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor the cinematics team in creating AAA cinematic experiences
• Help establish the vision for the player experience in cinematic conversations and gameplay moments
• Help build a bank of modularized camera and lighting configurations with which to create player driven conversations and cinematic moments in game
• Choreograph and sequence actors and props within player driven conversations
• Implement player-driven conversations into gameplay story moments
• Work with narrative designers in presenting characters and emotional moments using cinematic techniques
• Help determine the tools needs and optimal workflow for an entirely new cinematic tools suite

Qualifications

• 5+ years of related experience
• Deeply creative with a great sense of emotional delivery using in-game cinematics
• Excellent sense of cinematic principles and shot composition
• Excellent understanding of camera movement techniques
• Expert proficiency in non-linear editing
• Basic understanding of flow charts or node graphs
• Ability to do a basic block out of scene lighting appropriate to mood
• Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-discipline development environment
• Comfortable with a development schedule that is playtest-driven and focused on iteration and polish
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 

Preferred Skills

• Experience with real world cameras, lighting, and/or photography
• Experience in film or television production
• Experience developing Open World games
• Experience in creative writing

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is looking for a Senior Encounter Designer to build interactive combat scenarios that engage small groups of players and support solo quest content in ESO. Our ideal candidate is passionate about storytelling in a multiplayer environment and finding new ways to delight and terrify players of all skill levels.

Responsibilities

• Design and populate overland encounters in the Elder Scrolls Online
• Script AI combat behaviors and abilities in our proprietary toolset
• Stage monsters in new and interesting environments
• Communicate regularly with artists, writers, designers, and engineers

Qualifications

• 5+ years of related experience
• Excellent storytelling and visual composition skills
• Experience playing massively multiplayer online games
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity with Microsoft Excel or other data management software
• Motivated and organized, with strong attention to detail

Preferred Skills

• Photoshop or other image editing software experience
• Programming or scripting experience
• Demonstrable mod experience
• Animation background
• Familiarity with ESO

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Senior Level Designer with a focus on narrative levels to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

A developer in this role serves as part of the level design team with a focus on creating levels for narrative experiences in both open world and “linear” spaces, combat encounter design, and scripting. This role will work closely with narrative and gameplay systems team members in creating story-focused missions which feature thrilling gameplay, challenging combat, and memorable player experiences. A key part of this role involves designing the workflow and establishing best practices for mission creation on a new, industry-leading engine.

Responsibilities

• Work with the narrative design team and systems design team in creating mission outline documents which detail the structure, flow, and key moments of missions
• Work with level designers and world builders in creating the environments in which missions take place
• Author the control scripts and implement key moments within these spaces
• Work with the narrative systems designer to implement narrative experiences in missions and find creative ways of delivering lore in gameplay
• Craft memorable combat encounters, and work with combat systems designers in honing these experiences to perfection
• Create fun gameplay spaces focused on the game’s core mechanics
• Help determine the optimal workflow for mission creation
• Work with the tools team to identify the ideal toolset with which to create missions

Qualifications

• 3+ years related experience
• Deeply creative with a great sense of what makes gameplay fun
• Excellent sense of gameplay pacing
• Excellent level design skills
• Good grasp of scripting or coding
• Experience with combat encounter design in a AAA game
• Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-discipline development environment
• Comfortable with a development schedule that is playtest-driven and focused on iteration and polish
• Strong understanding of the discrete elements game levels and combat experiences are built from, and the ability to problem solve both holistically and on a per-component basis
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required

Preferred Skills

• Experience developing Open World games
• Combat systems design experience for third or first person games
• Background in architecture or paper/board game design

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Lead Combat Designer to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

This role will collaborate with the Creative Director, Lead Game Designer, Lead Engineer and Lead Systems Designer to plan foundational combat systems, flesh them out with fun mechanics, and hone them to industry-leading quality. This role will also work extensively with AI, animation, and gameplay engineers to build all the combat systems needed to fill the game with a wide range of challenging enemies and fun combat setups.

Responsibilities

• Own the vision for combat on the project
• Lead the combat design team in the development of mechanics, player abilities, weapons, and enemy designs to deliver a thrilling yet approachable combat experience
• Work with the level design team to determine how combat spaces are built
• Help define tool needs for scripting and laying out combat encounters, building combat systems, and tuning combat data
• Collaborate with all development disciplines to bring gameplay systems from early vision to industry-defining final implementations
• Establish standards for documentation and implementation practices
• Mentor combat designers and help them grow in their careers

Qualifications

• Deeply creative with a great sense of what makes for fun gameplay
• Excellent leadership skills, and ability to work collaboratively in a cross-discipline development environment
• Expert proficiency integrating imagery and text to deliver thorough, easy to understand design documents
• Comfortable with a development schedule that is playtest-driven and focused on iteration and polish
• Strong understanding of the discrete elements that game systems are built upon, and the ability to problem solve both holistically and on a per-component basis
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills 
• Working knowledge of scripting or programming
• An online portfolio which clearly demonstrates relevant work experience

Preferred Skills

• Experience developing Open World games
• Experience in level design
• Strong public speaking skills

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Lead Content Designer to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

This role oversees development of all content within the game and will collaborate with the Creative Director, Lead Game Designer and Lead Writer to ensure that it rises to industry-leading quality. This role is charged with delivering consistent vision and oversight across our content teams, ensuring they receive clear direction while maintaining the integrity of the IP.

Responsibilities

• Own the vision for content on the project, while maintaining guidelines and boundaries
• Act as the coordinator between content, art, and tech, ensuring desires remain within scope while pushing the boundaries of quantity and quality
• Ensure that content teams are properly staffed and able to deliver on commitments
• Maintain clear communication with key IP stakeholders and ensure that content teams react to evolutions in direction
• Collaborate with all development disciplines to bring content prototypes from early vision to industry-defining final implementations by minimizing blockages
• Establish standards for documentation and implementation practices, including timeliness
• Directly manage Lead Level Designers, the Lead Writer, and others
• Mentor content designers and help them grow in their careers

Qualifications

• Notably organized, able to call up the status and quality of all your initiatives at will
• Excellent leadership skills, and ability to work collaboratively in a cross-discipline development environment
• Expert proficiency integrating imagery and text to deliver thorough, easy to understand, design documents
• Comfortable with a development schedule that is playtest-driven, focused on iteration and polish, and that requires managing multiple game updates in parallel
• Strong understanding of the discrete elements that quality content is built upon, and the ability to problem solve both holistically and on a per-component basis
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Working knowledge of various development tools and game engines
• An online portfolio which clearly demonstrates relevant work experience

Preferred Skills

• Experience developing Open World games
• Experience in level design
• Strong public speaking skills

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is seeking a Tools UI/UX Designer to join our studio for the development of our next AAA game. This is a chance to join an experienced group of developers in pre-production for a new IP.

We are looking for a Tools UI/UX Designer to help build and improve all our game development tools and pipelines. Responsibilities include gathering user requirements, designing graphic elements, and building navigation components. This role will work with the tools team and collaborate with all members of the game team, to help implement and improve their workflows throughout development. This role will bring consistency across all tools with a focus on usability and streamlining complex flows.

Experience with design software and wireframe tools is a must to be successful in this role. A portfolio of professional design projects that includes work with application or tool development is also required.

Responsibilities

• Gather and evaluate user requirements in collaboration with product managers and engineers
• Illustrate design ideas using storyboards, process flows and wireframes
• Collaborate with engineers and other developers on workflows and workflow interfaces
• Design graphic user interface elements, like menus, tabs and widgets
• Develop UI mockups and prototypes that clearly illustrate how tools function and appear to the user
• Create original graphic designs (e.g. images, sketches and tables)
• Prepare and present rough drafts to internal teams and key stakeholders
• Identify and troubleshoot UX problems (e.g. responsiveness)
• Conduct layout adjustments based on user feedback
• Develop and adhere to style standards on fonts, colors and images

Qualifications

• Proven work experience as a UI/UX Designer or similar role
• Portfolio of design projects
• Knowledge of wireframe tools (e.g. Adobe XD)
• Up-to-date knowledge of design software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
• Up-to-date knowledge of modern game engines like Unreal 4 and Unity
• Strong communication skills to collaborate with various stakeholders
• Good time-management skills

Preferred Skills

• BSc in Design, Computer Science or relevant field

Overview

ZeniMax Online Studios is looking for a highly motivated writer to collaborate with our talented team of creative professionals to bring the characters and stories of our game worlds to life.

Responsibilities

• Work with other writers and content designers to create compelling characters and stories in the game environment
• Write and iterate on compelling dialogue for characters
• Write and edit compelling quest, lore, and story text
• Write in-game backstories for the world, its locations, and its inhabitants
• Assure fictional consistency utilizing established lore for the Elder Scrolls
• Complete all work to required specifications and quality by established deadlines
• Quickly master the proprietary, in-game writing/editing tool
• Perform other writing and fiction duties that may be assigned by the Lead Writer

Qualifications

• Demonstrable and strong skills as a writer and editor
• 1+ years of writing and/or narrative design experience
• Outstanding written and verbal communications skills
• Excellent narrative and dialog writing skills
• Strong ability to collaborate and thrive as part of a creative team
• Ability to work independently in a highly confidential environment
• A passion for games and for crafting compelling stories
• Plays and understands modern video games, especially MMOs
  
  

Portfolio: Please include links to your work and clearly indicate your contributions, as well as provide a writing sample demonstrating your talent and proficiency with dialogue and storytelling. Resumes without writing samples will not be considered.

Preferred Skills

• A strong understanding of the lore and story of Elder Scrolls is highly desired