systems game designer for a factory game

tobspr Games is a small, fully remote studio based in Germany that develops factory and automation games, including shapez and shapez 2. The studio is developing a new 3D factory game in Unreal Engine.

• Design the game’s core systems, including production chains, resources, logistics, progression, and economy, with input from the Game Director
• Break high-level mechanics into step-by-step plans the team can build
• Prototype and tune systems using spreadsheets, simulations, and Blueprints
• Write and maintain clear design documents and keep them aligned with the game
• Work daily with programmers, artists, and production to keep design and implementation aligned
• Organize design work by tracking priorities, open questions, decisions, and their rationale
• Challenge the Game Director’s ideas, propose alternatives, and identify when something does not work
• Later, lead a small design team and help shape the studio’s design practices

• 8+ Years of professional game design experience, with a strong focus on systems design
• At least one shipped title where you owned major systems, ideally a systemic game such as simulation, strategy, sandbox, automation, survival, or colony builders
• Play and genuinely enjoy factory and automation games, and understand why players spend hundreds of hours on them
• Think in systems, including feedback loops, dependencies, scaling, emergent behaviour, and edge cases
• Prototype and test ideas hands-on, not just on paper
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English
• Working times compatible with the CET timezone
• Будет плюсом: a programming background or solid scripting skills (Blueprints, C++, C#, Python, Lua, or similar), Unreal Engine experience, experience leading or mentoring other designers, experience in small or remote indie teams, personal factory-game projects such as mods, tools, prototypes, calculators, or blueprints

• Full-time, 40 hours per week
• Very flexible working hours
• Real influence on a game from its early stages
• Paid overtime, though the studio does its best to avoid it
• Book and training budget of €100/month, with more available if needed
• Focus days for learning new skills or researching
• Yearly on-site team events
• Automatic baseline salary adjustment of 2% per year
• Hardware and home office budget of €2,000 when joining, then €1,000 yearly
• Job Ticket for employees living in Germany