Creative Director / Lead Game Designer (Mobile F2P - Licensed IP)

Type: Full time - Remote
Location: Remote - open to all EU locations

The Opportunity

UserWise is developing a new mobile game based on a globally recognized entertainment IP, blending proven F2P systems with fast, rewarding hybrid-casual gameplay.

We’re looking for a Creative Director / Lead Game Designer to own the creative vision, game feel, and design quality of the project. This role is the creative authority for the project - responsible for defining the player experience, setting the quality bar, and ensuring that every interaction feels rewarding, intuitive, and cohesive.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a lean team environment. You will actively design, prototype, and iterate alongside engineers and artists, bridging mass-market accessibility with long-term retention, and shaping the soul of the game from early prototypes through launch.

Role Focus

This role is accountable for:

• Design vision & creative direction
• Quality bar across all gameplay and systems
• Clarity, cohesion, and emotional impact of the player experience

As the design team grows, this role acts as the final design decision-maker, while delegating execution to systems and feature designers.

What You'll Do

Vision & Experience Ownership

• Define and own the overall creative vision, experience pillars, and player fantasy.
• Act as the guardian of the core loop and game feel, ensuring interactions, feedback, pacing, and rewards feel tactile, satisfying, and premium.
• Establish and uphold the design quality bar across gameplay, progression, monetization touchpoints, and LiveOps.
• Make final calls on major design trade‑offs to preserve clarity, cohesion, and emotional impact..

Core Gameplay, Retention & Systems Direction

• Shape the core loop, session structure, and high‑level progression strategy.
• Architect the game’s retention strategy, designing emotional highs/lows and session flows that support long‑term engagement.
• Guide the direction of economy, rewards, streaks, and monetization systems to serve core fun rather than overwhelm it.
• Ensure trivia gameplay, meta systems, and social mechanics work together holistically.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as the creative and design lead while remaining deeply hands-on in day-to-day development.
• Guide and mentor other designers (systems, economy, feature/content) while continuing to contribute directly to game design.
• Partner closely with the Lead Producer on scope, priorities, and milestone planning.
• Collaborate daily with the Technical Director to align design intent with technical execution.
• Work with Art and UI/UX leadership to ensure design, visuals, and UX reinforce the same vision.

Hands-On Design & Prototyping

• Actively design, prototype, and iterate on core gameplay, flows, and experience moments - this is a hands-on role, not a review-only position.
• Lead and participate in rapid prototyping to validate fun, clarity, pacing, and player delight.
• Personally own the design of key features or experience pillars, especially during early and mid-production.
• Review and iterate on designs from other designers, providing clear, actionable feedback.
• Deconstruct competitor experiences to inform polish, pacing, and player motivation.

What We’re Looking For

• 8-10+ years of professional game design experience, including leadership responsibility.
• Proven experience owning design vision, game feel, and quality on a shipped mobile F2P title.
• Strong background in casual or hybrid‑casual games with an emphasis on progression and retention.
• Demonstrated mastery of player motivation, feedback loops, pacing, and polish.
• Experience improving or owning retention metrics (D1/D7/D30+) on live products.
• Comfortable working hands‑on with prototypes and collaborating deeply with engineering and art.
• Excellent communication and decision‑making skills.
• Fluent in English; effective in a remote, international team.

Nice to Have

• Experience working on licensed IP.
• Experience guiding a design team across MVP → soft launch → live.
• Familiarity with LiveOps, events, and post-launch iteration.
• Hands-on experience with Unity or other game engines.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development or gameplay systems, such as content generation, tuning automation, or adaptive difficulty.

Why Join UserWise

• Own the creative vision of a new mobile game from concept to global launch.
• Work with a veteran-led team in a lean, high-ownership environment.
• High visibility and direct impact on a flagship project.
• Opportunity to build and shape a growing design team.
• Work on a globally recognized IP with real brand reach and growth potential.
• 100% remote, flexible work with a small, passionate, execution-focused team.