Expert Game Designer

Do you enjoy thinking about how systems, progression, multiplayer, rewards, UX, levels, narrative, and player behavior all quietly conspire to create one big and beautiful experience? Good. We need you.

Triband is working on our most ambitious project to date: a new systemic open-world game built around a beloved IP, with our own spin on it. A bold new direction for us! And we're just getting started.

We’re looking for an Expert Game Designer to join a project team of around 15-20 people and help shape the core systems of the game. You’ll be the first dedicated systems designer on the team, so you’ll shape much of the game systems and overarching game structure.

This is a role for someone who can think holistically about a game but still enjoys getting close to implementation. Someone who can discuss big ideas in the morning, set up data after lunch, validate design ideas in the afternoon, and mentor the amazing people around them throughout.

Here’s what you’ll do day to day

• Own and develop core systems for a systemic open-world game by establishing standards for the entire project

• Mentor and support designers around you by sharing knowledge, giving feedback, and helping raise the team’s systems design confidence

• Collaborate closely with other designers, programmers, artists, producers, and leadership to move the project forward

• Work broadly across areas like rewards, progression, player motivation, multiplayer/co-op, quest design, UX, level design and narrative

• Think holistically about how the different parts of the game connect to create a coherent player experience

• Validate ideas in-engine through proof-of-concepts, visual scripting, or whatever else helps the team feel and get your idea

• Test in Unity and iterate based on what actually happens when theory turns into reality

• Last but definitely not least: bring opinions, questions, and ideas that go beyond your immediate area, because this project needs people who can think across the whole game

You’re probably a good match if

• You have strong experience with systems design and/or economy design (just to be extra clear: we’re not looking for a monetization designer but someone with experience working on premium games)

• You understand how different game systems connect and can reason about the full player experience, not just your own corner of the design

• You’ve been through all parts of a production cycle multiple times, including shipping and live operations

• You’ve worked across different platforms and/or genres

• You’re comfortable taking ownership in unclear situations and turning “big foggy idea” into “that’s how it feels in-game”

• You can explain your design reasoning clearly and help others understand the tradeoffs behind a decision

• You enjoy mentoring, sharing knowledge, and helping the people around you get better

• You are collaborative, self-driven, and proactive about identifying and solving problems

• You have a broad knowledge of games and are curious about how different genres solve design problems

• You’re excited by unconventional, experimental ideas and can handle the wonderful, uncertain mess of pre-production, where things change constantly, assumptions die regularly, and the game (or a stakeholder) occasionally looks directly at you and says “nope”

Nice to have

• Experience designing for open-world games

• Experience working in Unity. Other engines are also very welcome

• Experience with visual scripting or similar hands-on implementation workflows.

• Experience designing for mobile-first games

• Comfort going beyond paper design and getting your hands dirty in-engine

• Experience with live games, tuning, progression, or balancing across longer player lifecycles

• Experience with multiplayer, co-op, social systems, or shared-world design

What always matters to us at Triband

This project is something new, but our ways of working are the same. We’ve always believed that games are made by teams, not solo rockstars, and good ideas can come from anyone. We love people who bring curiosity, generosity, flexibility, and strong opinions, especially when those opinions come with reasoning, openness, and a willingness to validate ideas properly.

We also care a lot about experimentation. Sometimes the weird idea is not the right fit. Sometimes the weird idea is the entire game! The trick is being able to explore it together, learn from it, and not get too precious when the experience tells us we’re wrong.

For this role, we’re especially looking for someone who wants to help others, not just be “the expert in the room”. Someone who can raise the level around them by sharing knowledge, asking good questions, and making complicated systems feel a little less cursed.

Practicalities

• We work on-site at our cozy office in central Copenhagen.

• The project is our most ambitious one to date, and we’ll take the time to find the right person. That means we also consider people located outside of Denmark and provide financial (and moral!) support with visa application and relocation.

• We’re looking for someone with strong senior-level experience, whether the final title ends up being Lead Game Designer, Expert Game Designer, or something similar.

• We work a 37-hour work week, with core hours 10-15, and the freedom to start and finish anywhere between 7 and 18.

• Our working language is English.

• Most importantly: No crunch. People over deadlines.

We offer

• The chance to help shape core systems for Triband’s most ambitious project so far.

• A major role on a new IP while it’s still early enough for your thinking to meaningfully change the game.

• A design team that gets hands-on with implementation, prototyping, testing, and iteration.

• A playful and ambitious work environment where experimentation is encouraged.

• Friendly and kind colleagues who love making each other laugh as much as making games.

• A professional development budget to invest in your growth.

• Social activities like Friday bars, hobby nights, board game nights, team events, and whatever else Tribanders turn into a tradition.

• Daily lunch at a local restaurant just across the lakes, with plant-based options and soft ice on Thursdays.

• Private health insurance paid by us.

• Child’s first sick day on us, no questions asked.

• Endless amounts of coffee.

WHAT THE TRIBAND?

Triband is the award-winning studio behind the WHAT THE? comedy game series, played by millions worldwide.

From our home in central Copenhagen, more than 60 wonderful humans are united by our mission to make people laugh. We explore comedy through gameplay, which means we like to break player expectations, create surprising interactions, use great music and slick art, and build quirky worlds full of personality. This new project is not a WHAT THE? game, but it is still being made by Triband: curious, collaborative, experimental people trying to build something surprising together.

We put people first and strive to create a safe and creative working environment. We believe that teams, not individuals, make games. And we believe diversity makes teams better. For these reasons, we look for people who bring new perspectives and who are excited to challenge us and our way of doing things.

For more info about Triband, check out: triband.net/about