Senior Gameplay Designer (Unreal Engine 5 / Sports) Job at Refactor Games, Santa Monica, CA

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  • Refactor Games
  • Santa Monica, CA

Job Description

Refactor Games is a AAA sports video game studio. We are developing the next generation of professional football (soccer) video games using Unreal Engine 5.

We are looking for an experienced, technical Senior Gameplay Designer who deeply understands the game of football and knows how to translate it into an authentic, fun, competitive, and highly replayable digital experience.

Ideally you should have direct experience working on football games like EA FC, Pro Evolution Soccer, UFL, or other high-fidelity sports games. You should understand player movement, ball physics, game balance, animations, player behaviors, and the nuances of building realistic sports AI.

If you’ve spent thousands of hours both playing and designing football games, know what separates good ones from bad ones, and can articulate why certain mechanics feel right or wrong — we want to work with you.

We want someone who is technical and hands-on in Unreal Engine 5. You will collaborate directly with engineers and animators to prototype, tune, and polish gameplay mechanics. You will own features from concept to final tuning.

Experience:

  • 5+ years designing gameplay systems for shipped console and/or PC games, ideally sports or competitive multiplayer.
  • At least 1 shipped high-quality football game or a similar sports game.

Requirements:

  • Deep knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 gameplay systems (Blueprints and/or C++).
  • Proven experience designing and tuning core gameplay mechanics: player control, ball physics, animation systems, player interactions, and AI behaviors.
  • Strong understanding of modern football game design conventions — camera systems, tactical systems, skill moves, passing, shooting, and defensive mechanics.
  • Ability to analyze and deconstruct football gameplay and translate that into design specs and actionable tasks.
  • Strong collaboration skills — work closely with engineers, animators, and designers to build polished, responsive gameplay.
  • Strongly opinionated about football gameplay and player ratings.
  • Love of football. You must know the sport inside and out and want to create the best football game possible.

Pluses:

  • Basic understanding of football gameplay physics including calculus, gravity, wind, drag, Magnus effect, etc.
  • Prior experience with player and team AI in sports games.
  • Understanding of online gameplay and input latency considerations.
  • Familiarity with data-driven tuning tools.
  • Experience working with motion capture and animation pipelines for player locomotion and ball interactions.

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