---
title: 'Senior Level Designer (4-Month Contract) at Blackbird Interactive'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-level-designer-4-month-contract-blackbird-interactive-vancouver-hjybs0sy0gn3'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior Level Designer (4-Month Contract) at Blackbird Interactive

- **Company:** Blackbird Interactive
- **Location:** Vancouver, Canada
- **Compensation:** $115k–$150k
- **Employment:** temporary
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-08-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/blackbirdinteractive/b0dd03f3-09ec-409f-b14d-2a1d7032ed82

## Job description

Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.

Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements.

PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.

Blackbird Interactive is looking for an experienced Senior Level Designer to help build and deliver high-quality gameplay spaces for an action RPG focused on fast-paced combat, character progression, exploration, and replayability. This role focuses on designing levels, encounters, and environments that create satisfying combat opportunities, reward exploration, and support a wide variety of player builds and abilities. You'll work closely with systems design, combat design, art, narrative, audio, and engineering to create spaces that complement the game's core combat systems while providing strong pacing, readability, and a sense of discovery. The role involves collaborating with leadership to align content with the overall creative vision while owning levels end-to-end, from initial layout and blockout through implementation, iteration, and polish. As a senior designer, you'll be expected to independently solve complex level design problems, provide strong design judgment, and help establish a high quality bar for playable content across the game.

## Responsibilities

- Collaborate with combat, systems, narrative, art, engineering, audio, and production to create levels that support the established creative vision and core gameplay pillars

- Own levels end-to-end, including layouts, blockouts, combat spaces, encounters, traversal, exploration, pacing, and player flow

- Design engaging combat spaces that support varied enemies, character builds, abilities, positioning, and different approaches to combat

- Create rewarding exploration through optional paths, secrets, environmental storytelling, and meaningful rewards while maintaining clear navigation and progression

- Script and implement gameplay events, encounters, objectives, triggers, and environmental interactions directly in engine

- Test, debug, and iterate on levels using playtest feedback to improve combat flow, difficulty, pacing, readability, and replayability

## Requirements

- A minimum of 8 years of game development experience, with significant experience designing and implementing levels for action, RPG, or combat focused games

- Experience shipping multiple titles, including at least one in a senior or equivalent level design role

- Proven ability to independently own complex levels from initial concept and blockout through implementation, iteration, and final polish

- Strong understanding of action RPG level design, including combat spaces, encounter pacing, exploration, progression, player guidance, and replayability

- Strong hands-on experience with level editing, gameplay scripting, and in-engine implementation, with the ability to prototype, debug, and iterate quickly

- Strong design judgment, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to balance gameplay quality, creative goals, technical constraints, and production realities

Pluses

- Passion for action RPGs centered on combat, character builds, loot, progression, and exploration

- Experience designing levels for an isometric or elevated gameplay camera, with an understanding of its impact on combat readability, navigation, and composition

- Experience creating replayable content that supports different character builds, abilities, difficulty levels, or repeated playthroughs

- Appreciation for systemic combat and how level geometry, enemy composition, hazards, and interactive elements combine to create varied encounters

- Experience designing dungeons, interconnected environments, procedural or modular level content, or other repeatable gameplay spaces

- Strong instincts for environmental storytelling, gameplay readability, polish, and identifying opportunities to improve the player experience through iteration

## About Blackbird Interactive

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Blackbird Interactive is an award-winning independent game development studio based in Vancouver, best known for the Homeworld series, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, and collaborations on Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Legends.
- **Entity Type**: Private (independent studio, no public funding rounds disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- **Founded**: 2007 (as a studio; began operations in 2010 per company site)
- **Founders**: Rob Cunningham (co-founder of Relic Entertainment)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Video game development (AAA and indie titles, RTS, simulation, action)
- **Target customers**: PC and console gamers (B2C); also partners with major publishers (B2B)
- **Mission or purpose**: “To create iconic experiences and explore new horizons” through world-class art, design, and technical mastery

## Products & Services
- **Homeworld 3**: Direct sequel to the classic RTS franchise; developed for Gearbox Software (PC, 2024)
- **Hardspace: Shipbreaker**: Space salvage simulator (early access 2020, full release 2022); IP acquired from Focus Entertainment in 2025; multiple new Hardspace projects in development
- **Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak**: RTS spin-off set in the Homeworld universe (2016)
- **Earthless**: An original game released via early access in 2024; published by Blackbird Interactive
- **Crossfire: Legion**: RTS game set in the Crossfire universe (2022)
- **Minecraft Legends / Minecraft Earth**: Co-developed with Mojang Studios (2023, 2019)
- **Project Eagle**: Interactive art model of a Mars base in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2018)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not disclosed; significant revenue from publishing partnerships and game sales
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Gearbox Software, Focus Entertainment, Lyrical Games, Xbox Game Studios, Mojang Studios, NASA JPL
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Acquired the IP of the *Hardspace* franchise (August 2025)
  - Signed a new title with indie publisher Lyrical Games (2025)
  - Multiple unannounced projects in development (as of 2025)
  - Staff count ~150 per company website; previously had 330 at peak

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep RTS heritage**: Founders and many staff are veterans from Relic Entertainment (original Homeworld team)
- **IP ownership**: Owns the *Hardspace* franchise and developing original IP (e.g., *Earthless*)
- **Technical expertise**: Custom pipelines for Unreal Engine 5, VR, data visualization, and procedural content
- **Established partnerships**: Long-term relationship with Gearbox (Homeworld) and Xbox Game Studios (Minecraft franchise)
- **Award-winning track record**: Multiple critically acclaimed games with strong fan communities

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand original IP**: Invest in the *Hardspace* universe and new original games (e.g., *Earthless*)
- **Grow development services**: Partner with major publishers for co-development while building own IP portfolio
- **Sustain remote-first culture**: Continued focus on flexible work and employee well-being to attract top talent
- **Leverage Unreal Engine 5**: Upcoming projects (including “Original Game”) built on UE5

## Why Work Here
- **Remote-first culture**: Flexible work environment (remote-first policy)
- **Generous benefits**: Competitive salary, comprehensive extended health & wellness, paid parental leave top-up, generous vacation and personal leave
- **Innovation opportunities**: R&D time, New IP Pitching Program with bonuses for greenlit projects
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on creative freedom, technical challenges, and a healthy work-life balance (previously trialed a 4-day work week in 2021–2022, implemented across teams)
- **Industry veterans**: Work alongside talent from EA, Capcom, The Coalition, Relic; leadership with decades of game development experience
- **Open roles (as of search date)**: Design Director, Gameplay AI Software Engineer (UE5), Senior Systems Designer, Technical UI, Intermediate Software Engineer, Lead Software Engineer

## Sources
1. [Blackbird Interactive – Official Website](https://www.blackbirdinteractive.com/)
2. [Blackbird Interactive – Careers Page](https://blackbirdinteractive.com/careers-2/)
3. [Blackbird Interactive – Job Listings (Lever)](https://jobs.lever.co/blackbirdinteractive)
4. [Blackbird Interactive – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_Interactive)
5. [Blackbird Interactive – New Careers Page](https://blackbirdinteractive.com/new-careers/)

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