Design Director​/Directeur; trice) du design

Position: Design Director / Directeur(trice) du design
Location: Montreal

Employment Status:  Permanent / Full Time

Work Location:

Vancouver, British Columbia or Montreal, Quebec, Canada (remote or in office)

Overview
Final Strike Games is an independent game-development studio with a passion for creating world-class multiplayer, shooter, and live-service games in Unreal Engine. Our team values honesty, transparency, and respect for all, while working together to create industry-inspiring game experiences!

Final Strike Games is looking for a collaborative, visionary, and hands-on Design Director to lead mission and level design on an unannounced tactical first-person shooter for PC and console. You will own the design and delivery of our tactical missions, from first layout to final polish, and build experiences that shine with AI squad mates and in five-player co-op. We are looking for someone who has shipped FPS games, knows what makes a breach, an encounter, and a replayable mission great, and still loves getting into the editor.

As a leader, you will set the creative bar for the design team, mentor designers, run playtests, and make the calls that keep the game fun while landing on scope and on milestones. Team members are expected to lead with curiosity and to help cultivate a trusting and collaborative environment across disciplines.

Responsibilities include but not limited to

Own the design vision and delivery of the game’s tactical missions, from concept and graybox through final polish

Define and uphold the standards for mission layouts, breaching, encounters, objectives, pacing, and replayability

Design missions that play great with AI squad mates and in five-player co-op, scaling challenge and roles across team sizes

Partner with AI, gameplay, and systems teams to make sure core FPS mechanics, enemy behavior, and squad tools support mission goals

Stay hands-on in Unreal Engine: build, prototype, and iterate on levels and encounters alongside the team

Lead, mentor, and grow a team of level, mission, and encounter designers, giving clear direction and actionable feedback

Plan and run regular playtests, analyze results, and turn findings into concrete design changes

Work with production to scope missions, set priorities, and deliver on milestones without compromising quality

Collaborate closely with art, audio, narrative, and engineering leads to deliver cohesive, polished missions

Communicate design intent clearly to the team and to studio leadership through documentation, reviews, and presentations

Required

Skills & Qualifications

10+ years of experience in game design, with at least 4 years leading level or mission design teams

Shipped at least one first-person shooter in a lead or director role, with strong mission and level design ownership

Expert in mission layouts, breaching, encounter design, objectives, pacing, and replayability

Experience designing for co-op multiplayer and for AI companions or squad mates

Hands-on Unreal Engine skills, including level building, Blueprints, and taking spaces from graybox through final polish

Strong FPS systems knowledge, including gunplay, movement, AI behavior, and how they shape level and encounter design

Proven ability to lead and mentor designers, run playtests, and deliver within scope and on milestones

A portfolio or body of shipped work that shows your mission and level design

Excellent communication skills, with the ability to give clear direction and present design intent to leadership

Nice to Have

Shipped a tactical or squad-based shooter

Experience with live-service or replayable mission structures, such as procedural elements, modifiers, or difficulty tiers

Experience working with AI engineers on squad commands, companion behavior, or enemy tactics

Experience building and scaling a design team on a new IP

Compensation &…