Lead Game Designer
San Francisco /
Game Design /
Full-Time
/ On-site
About us
Curio is building next-gen crypto games and infrastructure with strong user generated content (UGC). Previous generation of games are closed, preventing players from contributing UGC that hook into core game logic and accessing game data. We envision a world where players are free to invent and build, such as it’s building an asset exchange, drafting up political agreements, or even issuing your own in-game currency and inventing new monetary systems.
We are working on solving cutting-edge blockchain engineering problems that can bring this to reality. So far, we’ve built a fully on-chain game engine on the Ethereum Virtual Machine and launched Treaty — a strategy game where players form alliances and draft up policies to win. For the first time, user generated code is fully enforced by the game engine, and by leveraging such composability enabled by crypto, this amplifies player creativity and radically shift the way players interact with the worlds that they hold dear.
We’re backed by top investors including Bain Crypto, TCG Crypto, Robot Ventures, Formless Capital, and a team of amazing angels who hail from Niantic, Coinbase, and more.
About the role
We are looking for a Lead Designer with strong past experience in strategy games and curiosity for what a new technological paradigm can do to game mechanics. You will lead game systems design for Curio's game. You are able to reason from first principles and learn from the rest of crypto industry, marrying old knowledge with new, to create mechanics and UGC components never seen before.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design of the next generation of composable, on-chain strategy games
- Establish a creative vision for the product, design and engineer gameplay systems, and lead research and documentation
- Work closely with the design and engineer team to determine product scope and direction and iterate on game mechanics
Qualifications
- 3+ years of experience working as a game designer, preferably on strategy games, with heavy hands-on experience with mechanics
- Strong logical and analytical skills, ability to break down all components of a strategy game clearly
- High level of transparency and clear communication
- Ability to switch frames between high-level vision and low-level execution
- Proactive curiosity in new technological paradigms such as the blockchain and emergent gameplay mechanics
Bonus if you have
- Experience working as a designer (or being extremely familiar with) on a top-tier strategy game, such as Civilization series, Anno 1800, Polytopia, Rise of Kingdoms, etc.
- Deep understanding of MMO game systems and open world/economy systems, such as in EVE Online
- Experience or passion with game modding
- Technical background, esp. game programming experience
- Existing knowledge in NFT, DeFi, and current blockchain games
- Familiarity with Mandarin Chinese
Why join us?
- As an early team member, you will receive highly competitive cash and equity compensations.
- You’ll have opportunities to take great ownership and shape the next generation of gaming.
- Be learning and building every day with one of the first and most anticipated teams in the on-chain gaming space.
- We provide perks such as full health, dental, and vision insurance, 401k matching, team retreats, and more.
Even if the above qualifications aren't an exact match, passionate and enthusiastic people who love to quickly learn are always welcome! Feel free to reach out or apply regardless and we would love to chat.
