Game designer (Merge-2) Gamedev

What is important in experience (Hard-skills):

• experience as a Senior level Game Designer from 3+ years in mobile F2P (merge, match-3, casual) with commercial releases;
• self—management of the product line - you formed the backlog, priorities and hypotheses yourself, worked without a permanent producer "for every sneeze";
• Data-driven practice — confident knowledge of metrics R1–R28, ARPU, ARPPU, churn, Retention D1/D7/D30, conversion, solutions backed by numbers and hypotheses with the expected effect;
• deep experience with FTUE and meta in merge / casual — understanding the start funnel, progression, orders, meta-loop (using the example of Gossip Harbor, Travel Town and market leaders).
• the skill of writing technical specifications and acceptance — your documents are accepted for development without massive reworking, you control the implementation on DEV and give a clear feedback.;
• using AI in your work — you are not afraid of neural networks, you use them to speed up routine (technical specifications, references, texts, balance, competitor analysis) and show specific scenarios.;
• tools — Jira, Confluence, Figma, Miro, Google Sheets, willingness to integrate into the pipeline of the project and the company;
• a portfolio with cases of impact on metrics — preferably with figures (was/ became by Retention, ARPU, conversions).

What is important in the style of work (Soft-skills):

• Product thinking — each feature is viewed through a goal, a metric of success, and a contribution to the overall product, rather than as a "mechanic for the sake of mechanics";
• Ownership and responsibility — you are responsible for the effect of your decisions, not just for the availability of the document; you bring it to the release and analyze the result.;
• initiative and proactivity — you find problems in the data and gameplay yourself, you offer solutions, you don't expect tasks from the art director or PM;
• high tempo and energy — ready for quick fixes, frequent releases, don't get stuck in perfectionism, know how to apply the 80/20 rule;
• systems thinking — you see the connections of core ↔ meta ↔ monetization ↔ retention ↔ live iterations and act taking into account dev capacities;
• clear communication — you write structured technical specifications without "water", you know how to negotiate with developers, artists, analysts, and the art director, and you defend your product position based on data, not emotions.;
• constructive conflict — arguing on scope and priorities, but always with argumentation and respect for the expertise of colleagues;
• stress tolerance — you work in conditions of a live project, urgent edits and pressure on metrics, maintaining quality and pace.

Where the role will be difficult:This position will require a combination of strategy, tactics and practical work. It won't fit if it's closer to you.:

• to wait for a detailed statement from the producer or art director - on MER, you define the tasks yourself.;
• write only documents, but don't dive into acceptance, analytics, and priorities.;
• making decisions based on "I like it that way" without hypotheses and metrics;
• focus on the "beautiful" mechanics, ignoring the failures in FTUE and the first sessions;
• work slowly, avoid frequent releases, or be afraid of neural networks;
• avoid responsibility for bugs and quality of implementation on DEV;
• do not have confirmed cases with an impact on Retention, ARPU, or conversion.

What will need to be done:

• manage FTUE and the first sessions — rework the start funnel, tutorial, and the first 3 minutes so that the player can understand the core, goal, and meta faster, and D1 grows;
• design and improve meta-system — progression, orders, pet rescue, levels, long-term motivation to increase D7/D30 and engagement;
• maintain balance and rebalance — calculate the economy, link changes with retention and monetization, and iteratively edit based on data rather than subjective feelings;
• run a cycle of hypotheses → releases → analysis — roll out quick fixes every week/sprint, check them on metrics and draw conclusions, forming the next step;
• write technical specifications and accept implementation — create design documents and technical specifications (using AI for drafts), synchronize with UX/UI and art, be the first to check features on DEV and not give raw mechanics to QA;
• work with analytics — formulate hypotheses together with an analyst, evaluate impact/ difficulty, check the effect after release based on Retention, ARPU, churn, funnels;
• To introduce AI into the daily workflow is to use neural networks to generate references, texts, primary balance calculations, analyze competitors and structure technical specifications, while maintaining human quality control.;
• Prioritize and protect scope — focus on what gives the greatest increase in metrics, say no to redundant mechanics, and keep up the pace of live releases.

Conditions

• salary + monthly KPI, linked to product and team results;
• a real opportunity to influence the key metrics of a live F2P project and see the result of your hypotheses within a few days;
• working with modern AI tools and self-management of a product line without bureaucracy — you set your own priorities and pace of releases.;
• work in a promising and developing company, a young and friendly team;
• formalization and financial stability;
• the usual vacation is 28 calendar days per year;
• compensation for learning English at SkyEng school.
• support in significant events;
• an active corporate life for all employees;
• the opportunity to grow professionally: paid conferences and courses, purchase of professional literature.

You can send feedback to our email address.: info@rockstonedev.com