Lead Designer - RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Office location:
Cambridge, UK – This position offers flexible working options, including predominantly remote work. However, applicants should be based (or be willing to relocate) within a comfortable commuting distance of our office to attend onsite as required.

Are you an experienced game design leader who excels with collaboration and enjoys helping external development teams deliver exceptional player experiences?

As a Lead Designer on Rune Scape:
Dragonwilds, our open-world survival crafting game currently in early access and being developed in Unreal Engine 5, you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring our co-development partners deliver gameplay and content that meets the creative vision, quality standards, and player experience expectations of the project.

Working closely with Creative Leadership and Production, you'll act as the bridge between internal direction and external execution, providing clear design leadership, reviewing deliverables, solving development challenges, and helping multiple teams deliver cohesive, player-focused experiences. This is a highly collaborative role where your ability to communicate, mentor, and influence will be just as important as your design expertise.

• Drive the execution of the Rune Scape:
  Dragonwilds design vision across external development and outsourcing partners.
• Act as the primary design contact for assigned co-development teams, providing clear direction and ongoing support.
• Translate high-level creative vision into actionable design guidance that enables partners to deliver high-quality gameplay and content.
• Review features, gameplay systems, and content, providing constructive, timely feedback that maintains quality and consistency.
• Ensure externally developed work aligns with established design pillars, technical constraints, and player experience goals.
• Collaborate closely with Creative Leadership and Production to maintain consistency across all areas of development.
• Identify risks, blockers, and quality concerns early, working proactively with partners to resolve them.
• Provide hands-on design support where needed, helping unblock teams through implementation guidance, prototyping, or problem-solving.
• Facilitate effective communication between internal stakeholders and external development partners.
• Help establish efficient review processes, design workflows, and best practices across co-development teams.
• Participate in planning sessions, milestone reviews, and feature evaluations to support successful delivery.
• Champion player-focused design through regular play testing, feedback analysis, and iterative improvement.
• Support the onboarding of new development partners, helping them understand the project's vision, workflows, and quality expectations.
• Build trusted relationships with external teams, encouraging accountability, collaboration, and shared ownership of outcomes.

• Private Healthcare, including Dental Plan.
• Minimum 6% Pension contributions.
• Employee Assistance Programme & onsite Counselling.
• Life Insurance.
• Discretionary annual performance bonus.
• Enhanced family leave policies from day 1.
• Flexible working hours.
• 25 days annual leave + Bank holidays & the option to buy/sell holidays + so much more!

We are Jagex:
The Rune Scape Company- home to one of gaming's most enduring success stories. We create deep, community-powered games with worlds that evolve, inspire, and endure. Our flagship MMORPG franchise, Rune Scape has welcomed over 300 million player accounts, inspiring generations of players across PC and mobile for 25 years.

As we begin our 26th year, we are accelerating our strategy to expand Rune Scape into a broader ecosystem of forever games and connected experiences, grounded in a renewed commitment to integrity and fair play. This includes the reduction of monetisation mechanics, as well as the launch of Rune Scape:
Dragonwilds into Steam Early Access in 2025 representing a major step in building a multi-genre future for the Rune Scape universe. We remain focused on building enduring worlds, empowering player-led innovation, and laying the foundations for the boldest era in Rune Scape’s history.…