--- title: 'Sr AI Game Designer at Haven Interactive Studios - English' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-ai-game-designer-haven-interactive-studios-english-canada-montreal-1bdgbptxp1zs' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-11' --- # Sr AI Game Designer at Haven Interactive Studios - English - **Company:** Haven Interactive Studios - English - **Location:** Canada Montreal, Canada - **Posted:** 2026-07-13 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/havenenglish/jobs/6114876004 ## Job description We are looking for an experienced AI Game Designer to join the Haven Entertainment Studios project team. The Sr AI Game Designer will work closely with the Game director to help shape the creation and development of the game design direction for the next generation of games. They will develop and design AI and emergent game systems that translate the vision into a playable experience. They will work within a collaborative multidisciplinary environment to ensure the delivery of high quality features with the consumer needs always at the forefront. Reporting Line The Senior AI Game Designer will report to the Production Director. ## Role and Responsibilities - Work closely with the Game Director to shape the direction and break it down into a clear set of features, deliverables, and tasks - Develop the vision for AI systems and Game play Ingredient, create emergent experiences between the AI and the player, while coherently integrating the PvE and PvP dimensions of the gameplay experience - Design, implement, and tune AI systems, behaviours and game play ingredient throughout all stages of production to create exceptional player experiences - Work with an interdisciplinary team and act as a regular point of contact within that team, as well as with leadership and other creative and technical co-owners, to ensure cohesion across the work - Communicate game design through multiple means to effectively ensure that gameplay intentions and the work to be done are understood by all team members - Collaborate with the Pod Producer to define a clear product vision that supports the identification and prioritization of features to be developed for each production milestone - Adapt  features and systems based on player feedback, while ensuring the coherence of AI systems in relation to the evolution of gameplay mechanics and the addition of new game modes Required Experience and Skills - Extensive experience in game design, with at least one shipped title in this field - Strong understanding of game design principles, with a focus on AI behaviours and emergent systems - Strong Understanding of core game AI systems — navigation, perception, awareness, state machines, Behavior Trees / State Trees, and AI data tuning in Unreal — to effectively design, adjust, and communicate expected AI behaviors with programmers. - Strong ability to work directly in the Unreal Engine editor to tune parameters, identify issues through configuration analysis, and create rapid prototypes to support the initial validation needs of new features - Understanding and experience in effectively integrating player data and metrics into the design process - Excellent ability to organize and structure one’s own work and communicate effectively with a diverse audience Assets - Experience with Shipping AI systems as a Game Designer on at least one title - Experience as a Game Designer on an online game, with an understanding of best practices for this type of game - Good knowledge of all aspects and dependencies of game design, including level design and narrative systems - Experience in another related field such as Level Design, Industrial Design, or Scripting Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks. Please refer to our[Candidate Privacy Notice](https://www.playstation.com/legal/careers-privacy-notice/) for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights. ## About Haven Interactive Studios - English ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Haven Studios is a Montreal-based PlayStation game development studio creating original, AAA live-service multiplayer experiences for PlayStation 5 and PC. - **Entity Type**: Private (wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, acquired in 2022) - **Headquarters**: Montreal, Quebec, Canada - **Founded**: 2021 - **Founders**: Jade Raymond (CEO & Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Computer Games (AAA Video Game Development) - **Target customers**: B2C (console and PC gamers) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "A place that makes space for all to wonder, to build memories, to create, to play" — the studio is built around core values of **kindness, adaptability, and courage** to make space for creative excellence. ## Products & Services - **[Fairgames]**: A competitive heist experience coming to PS5 and PC, unveiled in 2023. A live-service game built upon a systemic and evolving world focused on delivering freedom, thrill, and playfulness. The studio is also known to be working with internal AI tools (e.g., adapting Stable Diffusion for art creation). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2022; terms not disclosed) - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue reported at approximately **$1.3M USD** (LinkedIn data) for the private entity; Total Funding: Acquired by Sony in 2022 with an initial investment from SIE in 2021. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: **Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation Studios)** — Haven is the 18th studio to join PlayStation Studios and their first Canadian game development studio. - **Growth Signals**: - Founded in March 2021 with ~10 people, grew rapidly to over **60 employees** by time of acquisition (March 2022), and now employs **210 people**. - **10 active job postings** as of mid-2025, with job posting trends showing +400% quarterly growth and +100% yearly growth, indicating significant active hiring. - Talent sources include top studios: **Ubisoft Montréal (45 hires)**, Eidos-Montréal (20), Legion Labs (15), Behaviour Interactive (10), and Google/Stadia (14). ## Competitive Advantages - **AAA PlayStation Backing**: Full creative freedom and financial stability under Sony Interactive Entertainment, with access to PlayStation's technology and distribution ecosystem. - **Founder’s Pedigree**: Led by industry legend **Jade Raymond** (co-creator of Assassin’s Creed, founder of Ubisoft Toronto and Motive Studios), giving the studio instant credibility and talent magnetism. - **Elite Talent Density**: The team is composed of seasoned developers from The Sims, Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow 6: Siege, Tomb Raider, and Star Wars Battlefront. 32% of staff are Senior-level, 29% are Specialists. - **Culture-First Approach**: Explicitly built around kindness, adaptability, and courage — the studio prioritizes a healthy, non-crunch culture as a differentiator in an industry known for burnout. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Delivering the debut title **Fairgames** (competitive heist game) for PS5 and PC. The studio is building a live-service game designed to be a "forever game" with ongoing content updates. - **Growth**: Scaling the team aggressively (210 employees currently, active hiring across engineering, design, production, and community). Job postings have quadrupled quarter-over-quarter. - **Technology**: Using Unreal Engine, building internal AI tools (Stable Diffusion adaptation), and leveraging microservices, Kubernetes, and observability infrastructure for live operations. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: "Kindness, adaptability, and courage make space for creative excellence" — a clear anti-crunch, pro-creativity philosophy. - **Compensation & Benefits**: Rated **4.8/5.0 for Compensation** and **5.0/5.0 for Work-Life Balance** on employee reviews. Industry-leading salaries and benefits are explicitly mentioned in their hiring page. - **Environment**: Described as a "fearless" and "collaborative" space where diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental values. The interview process is designed to be straightforward ("no endless back-and-forth with dozens of exhausting day-long panels"). - **Work Policy**: Based in Montreal (with a small US office presence). The studio operates primarily from Montreal, Canada. - **Engineering Culture**: Rated **4.9/5.0 overall** (15 reviews). Strong emphasis on technical art, AI programming, and full-stack observability. Tech stack includes Unreal Engine, Python, TypeScript, Kubernetes, Docker, React, and MySQL. - **Notable Perks**: High employee retention from top studios, access to PlayStation's IP and technology, and the chance to work on a high-visibility AAA title from day one. ## Sources 1. [havenstudios.com](http://havenstudios.com/en) 2. [havenstudios.com/careers](https://havenstudios.com/en/careers) 3. [linkedin.com/company/haven-studios-inc](https://ca.linkedin.com/company/haven-studios-inc) 4. [sonyinteractive.com (Acquisition Press Release)](https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2022/sony-interactive-entertainment-to-acquire-haven-entertainment-studios-inc/) ## Other roles at Haven Interactive Studios - English - [Design Director](https://feeny.ai/job/design-director-haven-interactive-studios-english-canada-montreal-trdy7hedw841) — Canada Montreal, Canada