Principal Gameplay Designer (Enemies)

Confirmed live in the last 24 hours

Housemarque

Finland, Helsinki

On-site

Posted April 10, 2026

Job Description

OUR STUDIO

At Housemarque, we believe gameplay always comes first. With technical excellence and compelling narrative, spiced with our trademark neon flair and top-notch audiovisual feedback, we want our players to always feel actively engaged with the worlds we have created for them.

Our latest Award-Winning game Returnal, released on PS5 in 2021, embraces all these qualities. THIS is our DNA!

We value Nordic work-life balance by growing sustainably and ensuring our employees have the time and means to develop personally and professionally during work time.

We were established in 1995 with strong roots in the Finnish demoscene. In June 2021 we joined the PlayStation Studios, after years of partnership.

If you wish to join us for our next journey, apply today!

We are looking for a Principal Gameplay Designer for our next big game!

THE JOB
As the Gameplay Designer of the talented and passionate design team behind RETURNAL you will
work closely with a team of game designers and the Design Director to help drive the development of
scalable enemy gameplay and AI behavior systems in the next evolution of Housemarque games.
Together with content and art teams, you will design and build pipelines and systems for data driven
and modular enemy gameplay, creating memorable and compelling enemy encounters and
experiences.

What will your day-to-day look like?
• Own the vision, design, and long-term development of enemy gameplay systems and mechanics
• Lead the design of scalable, modular systems that support iteration and content growth
• Partner closely with art and animation to create pipelines for frictionless enemy production
• Act as the primary point of ownership and decision-making for enemy and boss gameplay
• Guide and mentor designers, setting quality bars and best practices
• Drive documentation, standards, and workflows that enable efficient cross-discipline development
• Identify and manage production risks, dependencies, and long-term sustainability concerns
What will help you to be successful in this role?
• Extensive professional experience in game development with an enemy gameplay design focus
• Proven track record shipping console and/or PC titles
• Experience creating modular and data driven enemy production pipelines
• Strong technical understanding of engines, scripting, data, and design tools
• Experience in balancing combat and enemy gameplay
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