Lead core designer

Welcome to Timbre!
We are Timbre Games (part of the Sumo Digital Group), a new studio in Vancouver, Canada focused on making exciting, innovative game experiences. Timbre’s vision is to change the games industry through the original games we make, as well as how we make them. We’re building an inclusive, supportive culture that allows us to explore fresh, new (and sometimes weird) ideas. We’re searching for more visionary explorers to join our team of diverse voices, coming together to develop games that are accessible to a wide audience.
If you’re thinking about your next adventure, send us your resume to talk to our team about how you can add your voice to the games we’re working on.
Design at Timbre Games
A great Timbre Designer strives to be curious, humble, authentic and adaptable. Great ideas come from everywhere, and we have the exciting opportunity to harness the power of collaboration to create something truly special.
At Timbre, designers are here to build a cohesive vision using inclusive practices and help create clarity for our team around what the game experience aspires to be. We are the voice of our players and the heart of the game. Constantly learning as we go, we use our skills and lean on those around us to shape quality experiences that capture our audience’s imagination. Together, alongside the rest of our talented team, we create confidence in Timbre’s vision of building diverse, meaningful AAA games using the latest software technologies.
As the Lead Core Gameplay Designer, you’ll be driving an accessible, Core Gameplay experience on a family-friendly ARPG. You have a deep understanding of all elements of Core Gameplay and how they can evoke player emotion, providing clarity to a diverse team on how these pieces tie together. You believe the best lessons are shared and through your knowledge and expertise, you will help mentor and grow the Core Gameplay team, fostering an inclusive design culture in the process alongside our Design Leadership team! As a Lead Core Gameplay Designer at Timbre Games, you’ll:

• Lead and mentor a team of skilled Designers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence
• Own and drive the Core Gameplay & Combat experience, providing clarity and direction to our design team on the moment-to-moment player experience (including enemies & AI, weapon gameplay, 3C’s, combat and gameplay readability)
• Steer experimentation, playtests and iterations of our family-friendly game to deliver a fun, player-first experience
• Work with other design leads to build cohesion across other design areas such as systems & progression, UX, level design and narrative
• Work with stakeholders to drive and build better processes & pipelines to support the design team
• Understand the needs of a diverse team, and by fostering deep cross-discipline collaboration, you’ll design features that tie into the overall gameplay feel and vision
• Partner with Production team to plan Core Gameplay development milestones, timelines, and resource allocation

What you bring:

• Previous experience driving and/or leading Core Gameplay design, taking a project through to final
• A deep understanding of the Core Gameplay experience (e.g. Combat, Enemies & AI, 3C’s & camera), and an ability to clearly articulate design intentions to a cross-discipline team
• An inclusive approach to Recruitment and mentorship, that brings out the best and authentic elements of your team
• Scripting experience, preferably in Unreal Engine
• A collaborative and open approach to communication: you are experienced in delivering clear, concise and solution-focused messages, that are easily understood by a cross-discipline team

What you’ll gain:
Timbre aims to foster a workplace environment that empowers our team to do their best creative work. Below are a list of some of the benefits we offer to ensure you reach your full potential. As we continue to grow, we are co-creating more values-driven benefits to support our team.

• Competitive salary & comprehensive health benefits, including extended health, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, short / long-term disability, 24/7 counselling through an employee assistance program and a health spending account available to you from your first day
• Annual bonus & up to 5% RRSP matching available to you from your first day
• Flexible paid time off, plus holiday closure between Christmas and New Years, as well as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Work with us in Vancouver or remotely across Canada, utilizing our $500 work from home allowance
• 1 year gaming subscription and weekly gaming days
• My Pathway – a Career Development Program to provide a clear path for you to grow at Timbre
• 8 learning days per year and unlimited access to Udemy online courses
• A values driven culture with direct access to leadership

Timbre’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Timbre Games is located in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada and on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Although our roots are in Vancouver, we work with a remote, distributed team across Canada. If you are interested in an opportunity at Timbre Games but are not presently residing in Canada, please note that we may be able to offer assistance in immigrating / relocating under the right conditions.
Timbre Games is an equal opportunity employer and considers all candidates for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military or veteran’s status (including protected veterans, as may be required by federal law), sexual orientation or any other category protected by law. We celebrate all backgrounds and attributes that make us unique and amazing – in this world and the ones we create!
At Timbre, we try to be mindful and not set unrealistic requirement expectations in order to apply. If you don’t tick all of the boxes of the role that you’re excited about, we encourage you to send your resume to our General Application inbox on our careers page, or, follow Timbre on LinkedIn to stay in touch with our newest openings.
Accommodations will be provided as requested by candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
If what we’ve shared above resonates with you, connect with us today!

Tagged as: Collaboration, Design, Experimentation, Imagination, Innovation, Leadership, Readability, Visionary