Principal Systems Designer

Our client, the studio behind shapez and shapez 2 – TobSpr, is building one of the greatest factory and automation games ever made.

We’re looking for an experienced Principal Systems Designer to join us on our next major project: a brand-new 3D factory game developed in Unreal Engine.

This is a senior, hands-on position where you’ll take full ownership of the systems you design. Rather than simply creating specifications and passing them along, you’ll be actively involved in building, prototyping, testing, refining, and ensuring those systems work as intended.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Designing and developing the game’s core systems in collaboration with the Game Director, including production chains, resource management, logistics, progression, and economy.
• Translating high-level gameplay mechanics into clear, actionable, step-by-step designs that the development team can implement.
• Independently prototyping, testing, and balancing systems using spreadsheets, simulations, and Unreal Engine Blueprints.
• Creating and maintaining clear, comprehensive design documentation that accurately reflects the systems implemented in the game.
• Collaborating closely with programmers, artists, and production on a daily basis to ensure alignment between design intentions and implementation.
• Bringing structure and clarity to the design process by organizing priorities, tracking open questions, documenting decisions, and explaining the reasoning behind them.
• Acting as a trusted creative and technical counterpart to the Game Director, constructively challenging ideas, suggesting alternative approaches, and identifying solutions that aren’t working.
• Eventually taking responsibility for leading a small design team, including a Level Designer and Content Designer, while helping establish and improve the studio’s overall design processes

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 8 years of professional experience in game design, with significant expertise in systems design.
• Experience shipping at least one game in which you were responsible for major gameplay systems. Ideally, this would be a systems-driven title such as a simulation, strategy, sandbox, automation, survival, colony builder, or similar game.
• A genuine passion for factory-building and automation games. You actively play these games in your spare time and understand what makes players invest hundreds of hours into them. Professional experience developing a factory game isn’t required, but a strong understanding of the genre is essential.
• A systems-oriented mindset, with a solid understanding of feedback loops, interconnected mechanics, dependencies, scaling, emergent gameplay, and edge cases.
• A practical, hands-on approach to game design, including the ability and willingness to prototype, experiment with, and test your own ideas rather than relying solely on documentation.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.
• Availability to work hours compatible with the CET time zone

NICE TO HAVE

• Previous programming experience or strong scripting skills using Blueprints, C++, C#, Python, Lua, or similar technologies.
• Experience working with Unreal Engine.
• Previous experience managing, mentoring, or guiding other game designers.
• Experience working in smaller indie studios or fully remote development teams.
• Personal projects connected to factory or automation games, such as mods, tools, prototypes, calculators, or blueprints. We’d love to see them, so please include examples in your application

WHAT THEY OFFER

• Full-time (40h/week), fully remote.
• Very flexible working hours.
• Real influence on a game from its early stages.
• Paid overtime (though we do our best to avoid it in the first place).
• Book & training budget (100€/month, more if needed).
• Focus days for learning new skills or researching.
• Yearly on-site team events.
• Automatic baseline salary adjustment of 2% per year.
• Hardware & home office budget (2.000€ when joining, then 1.000€ yearly).
• Job Ticket (if you live in Germany).