Staff Technical Designer | Technical Designer, Staff

Company Description NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our global theme park destinations, consumer products, and experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through our powerhouse film and television studios, including Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and Focus Features, and the four global television studios under the Universal Studio Group banner, and operate industry-leading theme parks and experiences around the world through Universal Destinations & Experiences, including Universal Orlando Resort, home to Universal Epic Universe, and Universal Studios Hollywood. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Visit www.nbcuniversal.com for more information.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

As a Staff Technical Designer, you own gameplay features from concept to polish, combining strong game design skills, rapid prototyping, and some in-engine implementation while collaborating closely with engineers and other disciplines to deliver polished player experiences.

You’ll work closely with multidisciplinary teams to develop robust gameplay systems, support emergent interactions, and establish clean, reusable foundations that can evolve throughout production.

• Own the design and implementation of major gameplay systems, mechanics, and interactive features.
• Prototype gameplay concepts rapidly using Blueprint scripting and technical tools.
• Design scalable and modular gameplay systems that support long-term development.
• Develop systemic and open-world mechanics that encourage emergent gameplay and player creativity.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, art, animation, UX, and production teams to deliver high-quality gameplay features.
• Implement and optimize gameplay systems using technologies such as State Trees, AI behaviors, interaction systems, and event-driven frameworks.
• Drive iteration through playtesting, telemetry, and player feedback.
• Mentor other designers by promoting strong implementation practices, systems thinking, and problem-solving.
• Contribute to gameplay documentation, technical specifications, and design guidelines.
• Identify production and technical risks early and propose practical, scalable solutions.

Advocate for clean, maintainable implementations that support extensibility and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Basic Requirements

• At least 5 years of relevant experience
• Strong experience in designing and implementing gameplay systems in Unreal Engine 5+ using Blueprint.
• Excellent understanding of game design principles, including systemic design, player feedback, usability, pacing, and game feel.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a feature from concept to prototype, implementation, iteration, and polish.
• Good understanding of modern 3D game performance practices, including streaming, culling, scalability, and CPU-cost-conscious scripting practices.
• Understanding of performance-oriented implementation practices, including avoiding unnecessary logic executed every frame, reducing systemic overhead, and designing features for scalability.
• Strong problem-solving skills and comfort debugging gameplay behaviors and technical workflows.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills within multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience on at least one commercialized game or major feature developed in a professional environment.
• Ability to mentor and support other designers.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with other scripting or programming languages than Blueprint, such as Lua, C#, or Python.
• Experience with AI systems, State Trees, behavior trees, navigation, or systemic gameplay.
• Familiarity with performance profiling and optimization in large-scale or open-world environments.
• Experience with multiplayer systems or network-sensitive gameplay systems.
• Experience in creating custom tools, editor utilities, or workflow optimizations.