Level Designer (UK-Based)

Details

Level Designer (Open to all experience levels)

Location

Hybrid – work from home or join us in our central Brighton office. We are unable to hire outside of the UK for this role.

Overview

We’re seeking a skilled and passionate Level Designer to help shape The Lost Wild, our flagship survival horror game published by Annapurna. You'll play a key role in defining and crafting levels, working closely with artists, designers, and programmers to create immersive, atmospheric, and narratively rich environments that build tension and fear.

You’ll collaborate with our Lead Level Designer, as well as environment artists, narrative designers, and gameplay programmers, to bring this ambitious world to life. The Lost Wild is a blend of foreboding natural spaces and eerie architectural points of interest, requiring a design approach that balances exploration, tension, and environmental storytelling.

What the Job Entails

  • Work alongside environment artists as part of a small strike team to shape and refine key locations, using blockouts as a shared tool for iteration and discussion.

  • Iterate from blockout to final, ensuring spaces feel intuitive, immersive, and narratively rich, while balancing player flow, exploration, and atmosphere.

  • Take a creative and artistic approach to level design, composing sightlines, key framing, and environmental storytelling to guide the player’s journey.

  • Weave gameplay mechanics, narrative beats, and exploration elements together to create engaging and memorable spaces.

  • Quickly block out and iterate on rough ideas, using them as a collaborative reference point for discussions with artists and designers.

  • Own large sections of the level design process, working closely with our Lead Level Designer to ensure vision and consistency across the game.

  • Directly address playtest feedback, applying creative problem-solving to enhance both gameplay and atmosphere.

  • Work within technical constraints while pushing for innovation and maximizing Unreal Engine 5’s potential.

Requirements

  • Demonstrable level design experience across both open natural spaces and interior environments, with a strong understanding of pacing and player guidance.

  • Experience with 3D modelling applications, and an ability to model architectural elements with a good sense of scale and proportion.

  • A strong artistic eye, with an understanding of composition, sightlines, and spatial storytelling to create atmospheric, narratively rich locations.

  • A clear grasp of level design principles for horror—building tension, controlling space, and directing player movement.

  • Ability to rapidly block out spaces and iterate on layouts, using them as a collaborative tool with artists and designers to refine gameplay flow and pacing.

  • Proactive, self-motivated, and organised, with strong problem-solving skills and a drive to see tasks through to completion.

  • Comfortable working collaboratively with artists, narrative designers, and gameplay programmers, ensuring levels support storytelling, exploration, and high-tension encounters.

  • Proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 Editor.

Plusses

  • Experience working on a AAA, AA, or ‘Triple-I’ title.

  • A passion for survival horror, immersive sims, or atmospheric narrative-driven games.

  • A strong understanding of horror mechanics, environmental tension, and pacing in level design.

  • Excited to be part of an indie studio with big ambitions!

  • Into dinosaurs.

Benefits

  • A four-day (32-hour) workweek

  • Work from home or the office – it's up to you.

  • A genuine, company-wide aversion to crunch.

  • Private health, dental, and life insurance via Vitality.

  • Annual salary reviews.

  • 31 days’ paid holiday, including all bank holidays plus your birthday off.

  • Extra time off for emergencies – no questions asked.

  • Annual allowance for personal and career development courses.

  • One hour a week of paid exercise and wellness time.

  • A flexible perks package – spend points on whatever you want.

  • Fast-growing studio with strong potential for career advancement.

  • Optional team meetups a few times a year.

If you feel you have something to offer this role, even if you don’t meet every requirement, please still apply. We are an inclusive employer, and if you have potential, talent, and a great work ethic, we want to hear from you. 🙏

Apply Now