Senior Systems Game Designer

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 builders, owners, 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!