Who We Are Founded in 2023, Small Axe Studios is 2K's newest stand-alone studio, built to push the boundaries of game development and bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. Headquartered in Burnaby, we are assembling a world-class team of visionaries, builders, and passionate gamers who thrive on creative collaboration, technical excellence, and bold ideas. At Small Axe Studios, we believe big things start with sharp focus-and we're crafting an exceptional, player-first experience from the ground up. If you're ready to tackle unique challenges, leave your mark on a brand-new IP, and help shape the future of interactive sports entertainment, we want you on our team!
What We Need We're looking for an experienced and versatile Expert Technical Designer to help drive the implementation and iteration of our gameplay systems and features. You will play a key role in bridging the gap between design and engineering-prototyping features, building robust content workflows, and ensuring technical feasibility for our sports-focused core fantasy experience.
As an Expert Technical Designer, you'll work across disciplines to bring features to life-from paper design to implementation-and guide the team in crafting flexible, scalable systems. You'll be instrumental in building our toolsets, scripting gameplay behaviors, and helping define the future of how we build and iterate on gameplay content.
This role reports to the Design Director (Core Fantasy) and collaborates with engineering, design, and production leadership to deliver compelling, player-driven experiences.
What You'll Do Prototype and Implement Gameplay Systems Design and build functional prototypes in collaboration with engineers and gameplay designers
Implement and iterate on gameplay mechanics, core loops,



and systemic features using visual scripting or other proprietary tools
Ensure technical feasibility of design solutions while maintaining creative goals
Own Technical Implementation of Features Collaborate with designers to translate high-level concepts into robust in-game behaviors and systems
Script game logic, define system flows, and integrate features into live builds
Act as a technical point-of-contact for feature teams, identifying dependencies and integration risks early
Optimize Workflows and Tool Usage Partner with tools engineers to improve designer workflows and content pipelines
Develop best practices and reusable templates for design teams to improve iteration speed and reduce bugs
Identify inefficiencies in data structures or tool usage and recommend improvements
Mentor and Support Other Designers Provide technical guidance to other designers and help raise the team's scripting and tool proficiency
Review and troubleshoot design implementations and help resolve blockers across features
Champion technical documentation and help maintain a healthy tech design culture
Lead a Team of Technical Designers Be a Craft Lead for fellow Technical Designers and lead the hands-on technical approach of implementation
Take on people management duties for other Technical Designers
Collaborate Across Disciplines Work hand-in-hand with engineering to ensure designs are performant,



scalable, and shippable
Partner with animators, audio, and UI/UX teams to deliver features with high-quality execution
Contribute to design planning, backlog grooming, and prioritization of technical work
Champion the Core Fantasy Vision Ensure technical design solutions reinforce the overall player experience goals
Help prototype and validate systemic interactions that create emergent or player-driven outcomes
Contribute to creative problem-solving that enables new gameplay opportunities
What Will Make You A Great Fit 7+ years experience in technical design or related gameplay implementation roles
Deep expertise with scripting systems (e.g., Unreal Blueprint)
Proven ability to implement complex gameplay systems from prototype through ship
Strong understanding of game systems, mechanics, and their interactions
Experience working in collaboration with engineers, especially on feature integrations
Excellent problem-solving, debugging, and optimization skills
Strong documentation habits and ability to explain technical solutions to non-technical teammates
A proactive, cooperative attitude and a passion for empowering creative teams
Beneficial Qualifications Experience working on sports games or other systemic titles
Familiarity with content pipelines, modular design approaches, or data-driven systems
Experience with tool development or technical design documentation
Experience in performance profiling and optimization on console/PC
Background in programming or computer science is a plus
The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between CAD $118,300 and CAD $175,060 pe

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📌 Expert Technical Designer (British Columbia)
🏢 2K
📍 British Columbia