Game Designer, Inception, DeepMind (Fixed-Term Contract)

About the job

DeepMind has long-established connections with gaming, whether through early AI-breakthroughs mastering Atari games or Starcraft, and more recent research with Genie and SIMA agents. We are looking for a Game Designer with a deep understanding of core, player psychology, and interactive storytelling to help us architect a new generation of breakthrough experiences. If you are a systems-thinker who views AI not just as technology, but as a brand-new design material, we want you on the team.

Inception runs like a startup, balancing high energy idea generation with pragmatic, clear and regularly refined operations. This collaborative, multidisciplinary group is situated primarily in London and Mountain View with collaborators across the globe. It has a sizable and different portfolio of early stage, design focused projects, with a focus on breakthrough experiences that wouldn’t be possible without AI.

Your mission is to design core loops, mechanics, and gameplay systems that would be fundamentally impossible without AI. You will be the creative glue bridging the gap between machine learning research and player-facing fun.

As a Game Designer, you will advocate a show, don't tell culture by translating abstract AI capabilities into tangible game prototypes. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to define player agency, map out system dynamics, and steer creative ideation sessions that push the boundaries of modern game design.

Artificial intelligence will be one of humanity’s most transformative inventions. At Google DeepMind, we are a pioneering AI lab with exceptional interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing AI development to solve complex global challenges and accelerate high-quality product innovation for billions of users. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, ensuring safety and ethics are always our highest priority.

We are pushing the boundaries across multiple domains. Our global teams offer diverse learning opportunities and varied career pathways for those driven to achieve exceptional results through collective effort.

Responsibilities

• Inspire others with strong creative that meets the constraints of a brief.
• Build, playtest, and iterate on interactive proofs-of-concept, leveraging both traditional game engines and generative AI systems.
• Work closely with a cross-functional team of researchers, engineers, and designers to find creative solutions and achieve project goals.
• Lead design workshops and brainstorming sessions to uncover novel applications for AI across a various range of genres, from sandbox simulation to emergent narratives.
• Translate high-level AI capabilities into elegant game mechanics, intuitive player loops, and compelling interactive systems.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 5 years of experience in game design, including one or more shipped commercial titles.
• Experience architecting agentic workflows and implementing generative AI models within a game production or software development pipeline.
• Experience leading experimental design projects or Research and Development initiatives.
• Experience with UI/UX systems or mechanics that focuses on player accessibility and cognitive load management.
• Experience prototyping using industry-standard engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal) or scripting languages (e.g., C#, Python).

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience developing games on multiple platforms (e.g., Unity, Godot, Unreal or similar).
• Experience in Quality Assurance (QA).
• Experience in UI/UX design.
• Ability to learn new skills and adapt to changing technology and new opportunities.
• Cross-functional collaboration with excellent communication skills and ability to work across multiple teams, and be a team player.