Absurd Ventures

Mission Design Lead

Absurd Ventures · Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica, CA $160K–$190K Posted 2026-06-22
Salary
$160K–$190K
Type
Full-time
Experience
5+ yr

Summary

As Mission Design Lead (Campaign), you will be the primary vision holder and a hands-on contributor for story missions and single-player campaigns. Lead a multi-disciplinary team to deliver critical path and side missions that combine best-in-class storytelling and action gameplay in an open world setting.

Responsibilities

  • Drive the design and implementation of engaging, diverse, innovative missions within a story-driven, open-world game.
  • Work closely with the narrative team to develop the flow of main story missions.
  • Develop and execute the mission design vision and strategy, ensuring that missions align with the game's overall narrative, thematic, and player experience goals.
  • Continuously seek opportunities to innovate and push the boundaries of mission design.
  • Leverage the game's open-world systems and mechanics to create dynamic and unpredictable mission experiences that adapt to player choices and actions.
  • Lead and mentor a team of mission designers, providing direction, feedback and support throughout the development process.
  • Go beyond documentation and management to lead from the trenches, with hands-on contributions to the playable experience.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation and iteration.

Qualifications

  • 5 or more years of experience in mission design, ideally within an open-world game.
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
  • Innovative thinker with creative problem-solving skills who thrives in a collaborative team environment.
  • Strong understanding of storytelling and narrative design.
  • Experience leading multidisciplinary teams is a plus.
  • Experience in UE4 or UE5 is a plus.
  • Experience working with co-development partners is a plus.

Description

  • Full time job with benefits
  • Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA
  • Office is located near downtown Santa Monica – near metro and freeways

The base pay range for this position is $160,000 to $190,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including paid time off, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.

$80K — 10th pctl $230K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $175K vs. market median $150K for Design roles
+15%
above median
Based on 1,000+ Design roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
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