Craft:
Games Design & Production
Job Description:
Are you a systems thinker and creative architect? Do you dream of crafting features that connect everything together—where player progress feels meaningful, social interactions spark joy, and every reward motivates another level?
We’re looking for a talented and collaborative Senior Game Designer to help shape the future of metagame in Candy Crush Saga—one of the most iconic games in the world. You’ll join a highly experienced team and contribute to a cohesive, ambitious metagame that touches millions of players every day.
Your role within the Kingdom
As a Senior Game Designer, you’ll focus on designing and optimizing metagame systems and features that bring structure, meaning, and delight to the player journey. From progression systems to competitive events and social loops, your work will support key strategic bets and elevate the Candy experience.
You’ll collaborate closely with product managers, UX designers, developers, and other game designers to define, prototype, and deliver systems that are easy to use, deeply satisfying, and seamlessly connected to the core game.
Key Responsibilities
- Design metagame systems that deepen engagement and reflect a strong understanding of player behavior and motivations.
- Use data and insights—both quantitative and qualitative—to inform and improve design decisions.
- Collaborate closely with product managers, UX designers, data scientists, and producers to deliver high-quality, fun, and impactful experiences.
- Translate strategic goals into clear, detailed, and actionable design documentation.
- Partner with live ops teams to design and optimize features that maximize live events’ impact and player retention.
- Stay informed on F2P trends in monetization and player engagement, and share relevant insights with the team.
- Work with fellow designers to ensure features fit cohesively within the wider game ecosystem.
- Create and iterate on systems that drive motivation, satisfaction, and long-term player engagement.
- Bring fresh thinking and genre-leading ideas to the Candy Crush metagame, staying ahead of trends in casual F2P design.
Skills to create thrills
- Experienced in Live F2P Games – You have hands-on experience designing and running live operations for casual mobile free-to-play games. You understand the rhythms of live content, player motivations, and what keeps players coming back day after day.
- Proven Track Record – You’ve owned or significantly contributed to successful metagame or live features—such as progression systems, achievements, or social mechanics—that drove long-term engagement in live casual games.
- Analytical and Insight-Driven – You’re comfortable diving into player data, identifying patterns, and turning insights into meaningful design improvements.
- Player-Centric Mindset – You design for joy and motivation, and you’re excited to test, learn, and iterate with real player feedback.
- Collaborative Partner – You’re a clear communicator who builds alignment across disciplines and helps teams rally behind great ideas.
- Systems-Oriented Designer – You simplify complex problems and craft interconnected systems that make the game feel rich, purposeful, and alive.
Bonus points
- Experience working on match-3, merge, or social mobile games with large, active live playerbases.
- Familiarity with systems, seasonal structures, or social gameplay loops.
About King
With a mission of Making the World Playful, King is a leading interactive entertainment company with more than 20 years of history of delivering some of the world’s most iconic games in the mobile gaming industry, including the world-famous Candy Crush franchise, as well as other mobile game hits such as Farm Heroes Saga. King games are played by more than 200 million monthly active users. King, part of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), has Kingsters in Stockholm, Malmö, London, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Malta. More information can be found at King.com or by following us on LinkedIn, @lifeatking on Instagram, or @king_games on X.