The Division Resurgence – Lead Level & Quest Designer (W/M/NB)

Job description

·  Location : Saint-Mandé, France 
·  Duration of work : Full-time 
·  Remote or on-site : Flexible working organization to be discussed with the manager of the role, in accordance with the Ubisoft Work From Home policy - 3 days a week in our Saint-Mandé office. 

Company Description  
Ubisoft’s 19,000 team members, working across more than 30 countries around the world, are bound by a common mission to enrich players’ lives with original and memorable gaming experiences. Their dedication and talent have brought to life many acclaimed franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, Just Dance, Rainbow Six, and many more to come. Ubisoft is an equal opportunity employer that believes diverse backgrounds and perspectives are key to creating worlds where both players and teams can thrive and express themselves. If you are excited about solving game-changing challenges, cutting edge technologies and pushing the boundaries of entertainment, we invite you to join our journey and help us create the unknown. 

Job summary
Implement missions in OW and in instances with the editor, both LD (and in coordination with LA) and quest steps & content (dialogues trigger, cinematics, gameplay blocks, etc.), also fix issues in OW map LD/LA

Key responsibilities

·  Work hand in hand with the Creative Director to achieve in the game their creative vision, intentions and expectations for the gameplay experience in the open world, in missions, and in game modes
·  Lead and be responsible for the detailed design, implementation in-engine, and balancing, of activities gameplay experience (missions/activities level design steps and flow, combat encounters, boss fights, interactive challenges…), in coordination with the content & narrative team, the system design team, and the assets team (for level art)
·  Lead and be responsible for the detailed design and implementation in-engine of activities narrative experience (level design steps and flow, narrative events and dialogues, scripted sequences, cinematics…), based on the designs defined by the content & narrative team (outlines, scripts…), and in coordination with the assets team (for level art and audio/VO)
·  Collaborate with other dev team cells (content, system, art & animation, gameplay programming) to ensure optimal communication of design info and achieve the results expected by the game Directors
·  Create design documentation from creative brief to detailed designs for open world activities, missions and quests, and game modes
·  Lead and guide the level design team in their tasks, to ensure that the level design and gameplay balancing answer the various constraints, meet the Creative Director’s expectations, and ultimately create the right player experience
·  Follow-up on final implementation of all level and quest designs to ensure proper execution
·  Constantly evaluate the accessibility, ease of understanding, and level of difficulty of your designs, to create gameplay experiences that are clear and intuitive for players, and at the right level of challenge expected by the Creative vision
·  Work closely with other teams to validate and secure all elements required for in-engine implementation of the activities (Exotic Gameplay, AI, Cameras, Audio, Text, Objectives, etc.)
·  Propose ideas to create new activities / missions / quests, in collaboration with narrative and content team, that can fit within the overall game vision and content plans
·  Participate in the development of tools to improve the missions and narrative implementation pipelines and workflows
·  Demonstrate pragmatism in your design priorities and decisions, to weight possible solutions and find the right ones to develop a live product and steer it through regular live updates (addition of content and adjustments)
·  Set and share best practices in your area of expertise for design, creation, documentation, workflows, methodologies and tooling
·  Constantly participate in finding solutions to fix buggy features and optimize systems, pushing for reworks when they are necessary to reach the expected quality.

Relevant experience, skills and knowledge

·  Passionate about playing and making games, notably RPG games and/or looter-shooter games
·  In-depth knowledge of the game industry, notably of the top AAA games in the RPG and open world genre, ideally in the GaaS genre as well
·  Strong understanding of the full development cycle of a game and a strong understanding of all its stages, from the conception to live phase
·  You already shipped at least a AAA game in level design or quest design
·  Significant experience (at least 5 years) working in a AAA video game development team as a level designer and quest designer in narrative-driven AAA games, ideally in a lead role
·  Experience with Game Engines (i.e. Unity or Unreal) and scripting language systems. Experience with Unreal Engine is a plus.
·  Ability to design creative and interesting game levels utilizing 3D tools (Unreal Editor, Unity Engine, Maya, Max, Blender or similar 3D editor).
·  Experience with linear & non-linear narrative structures in mission & quest design.
·  Strong knowledge of Game Design systems and Level Design elements and how they correlate.
·  Understanding of the technical constraints regarding narrative design implementation, on current-gen consoles & PC
·  Knowledge of technical constraints on mobile platform is a plus
·  You are creative, flexible and open to feedback and iterations, and a good team player
·  Role Model: you set a high standard and expect the same from your team. Attention to detail, meticulous and organized working habits to ensure high quality in day-to-day work
·  Fluent in English
·  A solid knowledge of the universe of The Division IP (its world, stories, characters, key mechanics and game systems, etc), and a passion for believable game world grounded in reality, is a plus
·  Demonstrate an ability to balance various aspects of combat experiences to create engaging gameplay.
·  Demonstrate strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively while still adhering to a creative direction.
·  Experience with Unreal Engine is a plus.
·  Knowledge of mobile platform development is a plus.

Ubisoft's perks  (for a position based in Saint-Mandé)
Profit Sharing, yearly company saving plan. 25 paid time off + 12 additional paid days off. 50% of your transportation pass is paid by the company, lunch vouchers (9€/day), healthcare for you and your family, and lots of Ubisoft additional perks. 
Maternity leaves of 20 weeks, paternity/co-parental leaves of 7 weeks. 
Our office is located in Saint Mandé, (Metro line 1, Saint Mandé station). Gym available in the building. Ability to work with a hybrid work arrangement according to the Ubisoft Work From Home policy.  

Recruitment process  
Recruitment Process: Jonathan Lavergne > Etienne Fougerousse > Fabrice Navrez
Hiring Manager: Jonathan Lavergne

Additional Information  
Ubisoft offers the same job opportunities to all, without any distinction of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, social status, disability, or age. Ubisoft ensures the development of an inclusive work environment which mirrors the diversity of our gamers’ community. 
The job reports to Ubisoft Mobile Games. 

Location : Saint-Mandé, France 
Duration of work : Full-time 
Remote or on-site : Flexible working organization to be discussed with the manager of the role, in accordance with the Ubisoft Work From Home policy - 3 days a week in our Saint-Mandé office. 

This role requires candidates to be based in the Paris area, and to be on-site in our Saint-Mandé office 3 days a week. This role is not eligible for relocation support .

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