Senior Technical Game Designer - UE5 (Sports / Action / Simulation

About the Role: Refactor Games is a AAA sports video game studio.

We are developing the next generation of professional football (soccer) video games using Unreal Engine 5.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Technical Game Designer to help drive the core gameplay systems and tools behind our next-generation European football title.

You will act as a key bridge between design and engineering, owning technical design implementation in Unreal Engine, developing gameplay features, building design tools, and ensuring our football systems are robust, scalable, and high-quality.

You’ll collaborate with gameplay programmers, animation teams, AI designers, and content creators to bring world-class football experiences to life.

This role is ideal for a senior designer with strong technical instincts, deep UE expertise, and a passion for sports gameplay authenticity.You’ll Work On:Own the technical design and implementation of game features.Use Unreal Engine Blueprint and/or C++ to prototype, iterate, and ship high-quality gameplay features.Develop, maintain, and improve design tools, workflows, and pipelines to support designers, animators, and live content teams.Collaborate closely with gameplay engineering to define system architecture, feature requirements, and long-term scalability.Integrate and tune animation systems such as state machines, blendspaces, motion matching, and procedural animation for player behaviors.Work with AI designers to support improvements to AI decision-making, player tactics, team shape, and football intelligence.Profile, debug, and optimize gameplay systems to maintain performance on all target platforms.Provide mentorship and technical guidance to other designers, helping them use UE tools effectively and safely.Write clear documentation on tools, systems, best practices, and technical constraints.Partner with production and cross-discipline leads to scope features, plan roadmaps, and ensure delivery quality.Requirements:5+ years of experience as a Technical Designer, Gameplay Designer, or Systems Designer on at least one shipped AAA or high-quality game.Advanced proficiency with Unreal Engine (Blueprints is required; C++ is a strong plus).Strong understanding of gameplay systems, player mechanics, and animation-driven character behaviors.Proven ability to build prototypes that clearly communicate design intent.Experience working with animation graphs, blend trees, state machines, motion matching, or similar systems.Ability to debug complex gameplay issues and optimize design implementations.Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering, animation, and design teams.Strong passion for European football and understanding of core systems (movement, ball control, tactics, player roles).Bonus Points:Experience on a sports title, especially European football (soccer).Comfort working directly in C++ within Unreal Engine.Experience developing designer-friendly tools and pipelines.Knowledge of football analytics and gameplay modeling (xG models, intensity metrics, stamina/fatigue models, etc.).Understanding of networked gameplay and replication considerations.Mentorship experience or leadership of small feature teams.What We Offer:Opportunity to work on a next-generation European football franchise.Senior-level ownership of cross-discipline features and systems.Highly collaborative team with strong engineering and animation partners.Competitive compensation, benefits, and relocation support as needed.