Contract Level Designer Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

What We Do:

At Gunfire Games, we’re passionate about creating unforgettable worlds and experiences. With a legacy built on titles like Darksiders III, Chronos, and the Remnant series, we continue to push the boundaries of game development through creativity, collaboration, and a relentless commitment to quality. We’re looking for talented, passionate developers who are excited to help shape the next chapter of our story.

Gunfire Games is seeking a highly skilled Senior Narrative Designer on a contract basis for 6 months with the possibility of extension to help shape the stories, characters, and worlds that define our upcoming titles. This role sits at the intersection of storytelling and gameplay, partnering closely with Design, Art, Engineering, Audio, Animation, and Creative Direction to create compelling narrative experiences that feel seamlessly woven into the player journey.

This is a contract opportunity for an experienced narrative designer who thrives in a collaborative game development environment and can help deliver high-quality narrative experiences within a production-focused team.

We are specifically seeking designers with demonstrated experience crafting narrative for PC and console games. Candidates should have portfolios that showcase narrative design documentation, shipped game work, dialogue, quest design, or world-building that complements the dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and action-oriented worlds that define Gunfire Games titles.

Portfolios consisting primarily of novels, screenplays, film, television, or other non-interactive writing samples are not a fit for this role unless accompanied by relevant game development experience.

What You'll Do:

• Develop compelling narrative concepts, story arcs, characters, factions, and world lore.
• Collaborate with creative direction and cross-functional teams to develop and deliver a cohesive narrative vision.
• Partner with level designers to create meaningful environmental storytelling and memorable gameplay-driven narrative moments.
• Write, edit and implement dialogue, item descriptions, codex entries, barks, and other in-game narrative content.
• Update and maintain narrative documentation, including lore guides, dialogue documentation, and narrative flows.
• Work closely with cinematic, audio, and voice-over teams to support high-quality narrative implementation.
• Work within development tools such as Jira, Trello and Miro to track narrative tasks, document changes and ensure alignment across discipline throughout production.
• Champion storytelling that enhances gameplay, allowing players to uncover the world's history through exploration, combat, and interaction rather than exposition alone.

Who You Are:

• 7+ years of professional game development experience in Narrative Design, Game Design, or a closely related discipline.
• Experience working in Unreal Engine.
• You have shipped at least one AA or AAA title in a Narrative Designer role.
• Exceptional storytelling, dialogue writing, and world-building abilities.
• Deep understanding of how narrative supports gameplay, player agency, and level design.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams throughout all phases of game development.
• Strong communication, documentation, and organizational skills.
• Proven ability to provide creative feedback and collaborate effectively with senior development teams.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, iterative production environment with evolving project needs.
• Passionate about creating memorable worlds, characters, and stories through interactive experiences.
• You can provide portfolio pieces demonstrating narrative design work, including shipped games, documentation, dialogue samples, quest design, or comparable interactive storytelling examples.

Bonus XP:

• Experience developing action, action RPG, shooter, or adventure games.
• Familiarity with cinematic pipelines, dialogue implementation, and narrative scripting tools.
• Experience designing branching dialogue, reactive narrative systems, or player-driven storytelling.
• Experience collaborating on voice-over recording sessions or cinematic production.
• Passion for dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic, science fiction, or horror worlds.

The responsibilities listed above are not intended to be exhaustive. The selected contractor may be expected to perform additional duties as required.

This position is offered as a six-month contract position, with the possibility of extension based on project needs, performance, and business requirements. This is not a regular full-time employee position. Contract terms, duration, and compensation will be discussed with qualified candidates based on their experience, skills, and alignment with the needs of the project.

Gunfire Games LLC is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified candidates for contract opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military or veteran status (including protected veterans, as may be required by federal law), sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law.