Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.Our studio operates as a remote-first workplace, offering flexible work arrangements.PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.ResponsibilitiesPartner with project leadership and publishing stakeholders to define, reinforce, and execute the creative vision, ensuring alignment across narrative, gameplay, art, audio, and presentationLead the development of the game's narrative, characters, investigative gameplay, and environmental storytelling, ensuring every element supports a cohesive and memorable player experienceLead, mentor, and support the design team, fostering a strong design culture focused on quality, collaboration, and accountabilityCollaborate closely with engineering, art, audio, and production to establish effective workflows, drive implementation, and maintain alignment as the project evolvesProvide explicit creative direction and feedback, helping translate high-level vision into polished, shippable content while maintaining quality and consistency across the gameIdentify creative risks, narrative gaps, and production challenges early, partnering with discipline leads to balance creative ambition with scope, schedule, and technical constraintsContribute hands-on to writing, narrative implementation, game design, prototyping, and content development as needed,



helping unblock the team and drive key features through critical milestonesRequirementsAt least 10 years of experience in game development, including at least 5 years in a creative leadership, narrative leadership, or senior design roleHands-on experience developing content in Unreal Engine 5, with confidence using in-engine tools and workflows to prototype, implement, iterate, and polish gameplay featuresExperience shipping at least one narrative-driven or creatively ambitious game with significant responsibility for story, gameplay, or overall creative directionStrong understanding of interactive storytelling, narrative pacing, player agency, and how gameplay and presentation work together to create compelling player experiencesProven ability to provide creative direction, review content, and maintain quality and consistency across a multidisciplinary teamStrong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to align design, narrative, engineering, art, audio, and production around a shared creative visionComfortable contributing hands-on to writing, narrative implementation, game design, prototyping, or content development while balancing creative ambition with scope, schedule, and technical constraintsPlusesPassion for crime fiction, investigative storytelling, and grounded, character-driven narrative gamesAppreciation for authentic research and the responsible adaptation of real-world subject matter into interactive storytellingStrong instincts for dramatic pacing, mystery, suspense, and player-driven discoveryExperience working with dialogue systems, cinematic storytelling, performance capture, or branching narrative toolsEnjoyment of collaborative creative development and helping teams refine ideas through iteration, playtesting, and feedback$140,000 - $160,000 a year #J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Design Director (Vancouver)
🏢 Blackbird Interactive
📍 Vancouver