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Entry Level Video Game Designer Jobs in California

Spellbrush

AI Anime Researcher - LLM

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... and video game industry. • Gather human feedback through designing RLHF-style voting systems or analyzing human-AI interaction logs. • Work on LLM infrastructure including building data ...

Intrepid Studios

Gameplay Programmer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$136K - $151K/yr

Work with game designers, artists, and other engineers to create compelling experiences * Break ... Passion and enthusiasm for video games * One or more shipped AAA multi-player titles preferred

Intrepid Studios

Gameplay Programmer

San Diego, CA

$136K - $151K/yr

Work with game designers, artists, and other engineers to create compelling experiences * Break ... Passion and enthusiasm for video games * One or more shipped AAA multi-player titles preferred

Youth Beat

Junior Producer Apprenticeship

Oakland, CA · On-site

$20/hr

Junior Producer Apprenticeship An entry-level position in video, photography, video editing, and production, starting at $20 per hour. This position is open to YouthBeat alumni. Duration: 2 years ...

Youth Beat

Junior Producer Apprenticeship

Oakland, CA

$20/hr

Junior Producer Apprenticeship An entry-level position in video, photography, video editing, and production, starting at $20 per hour. This position is open to YouthBeat alumni. Duration: 2 years ...

Spellbrush

Front-End Engineer (Anime)

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

The Frontend Role: We're seeking a talented Front-End Engineer to join our team and help us build the next generation of anime and video game tools. You'll be responsible for designing and developing ...

Spellbrush

Front-End Engineer (Anime)

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The Frontend Role: We're seeking a talented Front-End Engineer to join our team and help us build the next generation of anime and video game tools. You'll be responsible for designing and developing ...

Spellbrush

AI Anime Researcher - LLM

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... a new kind of video game experience. You'll work alongside top otaku minds in the industry ... You have worked on gathering human feedback Whether that is by designing a RLHF-style voting system ...

Spellbrush

AI Anime Researcher - LLM

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... a new kind of video game experience. You'll work alongside top otaku minds in the industry ... You have worked on gathering human feedback Whether that is by designing a RLHF-style voting system ...

Arc Games Inc.

Legal Counsel

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$105 - $140/hr

Arc Games, Inc. is a video game publisher based in the Bay Area, with titles including Star Trek ... * Entry-level candidates are welcome to apply - prior in-house experience is a plus but not ...

Augment CXM

Lead Product Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$182K - $224K/yr

Company Description Augment has an opportunity for an entrepreneurial minded Product Designer to ... We also get together occasionally for video game nights, happy hours, movies, bowling, ping pong ...

Augment CXM

Lead Product Designer

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

$182K - $224K/yr

Company Description Augment has an opportunity for an entrepreneurial minded Product Designer to ... We also get together occasionally for video game nights, happy hours, movies, bowling, ping pong ...

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Entry Level Video Game Designer information

What is an entry level video game designer?

Entry level video game designers are professionals who help create the concepts, storylines, mechanics, and overall design of video games, usually as part of a larger development team. At the entry level, they typically assist senior designers by brainstorming ideas, creating basic prototypes, designing levels, and documenting features. They work closely with artists, programmers, and writers to bring a game’s vision to life. This role is ideal for those new to the industry and looking to gain hands-on experience in game development.

What are some common challenges entry level video game designers face when working on their first projects?

Entry level video game designers often encounter challenges such as adapting to collaborative workflows, balancing creative ideas with technical limitations, and receiving constructive feedback from more experienced team members. Learning to communicate design concepts clearly to artists, programmers, and producers is essential for ensuring the game's vision is realized. Additionally, new designers may need to quickly familiarize themselves with game engines and development tools, while managing tight deadlines and shifting project priorities.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an entry level video game designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Entry Level Video Game Designer, you need a solid understanding of game design principles, storytelling, and basic programming or scripting, often backed by a degree in game design or a related field. Familiarity with industry-standard tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine, and graphic design software, as well as version control systems, is typically expected. Creativity, problem-solving, and strong teamwork skills help you contribute innovative ideas and collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams. These skills and qualities are crucial for creating engaging gameplay experiences and ensuring successful project development in the competitive gaming industry.

What is the difference between Entry Level Video Game Designer vs Junior Game Developer?

AspectEntry Level Video Game DesignerJunior Game Developer
Required CredentialsDegree in game design, computer science, or related field; portfolioDegree in computer science, software engineering, or related; coding skills
Work EnvironmentDesign studios, game development teams, remoteProgramming teams, development studios, remote
Employer & Industry UsageGame studios, entertainment companiesGame studios, tech companies, entertainment industry
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding design roles, entry requirementsProgramming skills, development tasks

Entry Level Video Game Designers focus on creating game concepts, storylines, and visual elements, while Junior Game Developers primarily handle coding and technical implementation. Both roles often work together in game development teams, but their core responsibilities differ. Understanding these distinctions helps aspiring professionals choose the right career path in the gaming industry.

What are the most commonly searched types of Video Game Designer jobs in California?

The most popular types of Video Game Designer jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs in California?

For Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Entry Level Video Game Designer job openings:

Entry Level Video Game Designer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Entry Level Video Game Designer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 1% As Needed, 82% Full Time, 14% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 83% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 14% Remote job distribution.

Motion Designer / Video Producer

Macroscope

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Full-time

Posted 25 days ago

Job description

About Macroscope
Macroscope aims to be the source of truth of what's happening for any company that builds software. Our mission is to give leaders clarity and engineers time.
We help leaders understand how their products and codebases are evolving-what's changing, who's working on what, and where progress is happening-grounded in the ultimate source of truth: the code.
Macroscope is founded by former entrepreneurs who have started and sold multiple companies, and operated as product/engineering executives at public tech companies. We're fortunate to be supported by the best VC firms and angels in the business, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Thrive Capital, Google Ventures, and Adverb.
About the role
We're hiring a Brand & Motion Designer to own how Macroscope shows up in the world. Every week there are new launches that deserve high craft visual concepts and polished videos to broadcast them.
This is a full-time, in-house creative role. You'll own visual marketing assets, motion design, and video production end to end: animated launch videos, short-form video social content, and a creative pipeline that makes it scalable.
You'll work directly with the founders and our growth marketer, with full creative ownership of the craft.
What You'll Do
  • Own all visual marketing output: UI motion graphics, social video, and ad campaign materials.
  • Proactively find stories-understand the product, watch what the team is shipping and turn it into meaningful content, rather than waiting for briefs.
  • Balance high production value launch moments with a scrappy, always-on cadence of social video between them.
  • Build and own our motion pipeline leveraging coding agents and custom design tools to scale visual craft with product velocity.
  • Evolve and maintain our brand across every surface.
  • Own the story end-to-end: Pitch, design, shoot, edit, animate, and publish yourself.
What Success Looks Like
  • Every feature ships with a launch videos that matches the quality of the product.
  • A steady, recognizable cadence of video and motion content that reinforces our visual identity.
  • Stories surface from inside the company because you found them, and brought them to life.
  • The motion asset pipeline is fast and repeatable instead of a bottleneck.
  • The brand feels coherent and unmistakable everywhere it appears.
Who You Are
  • 2+ years in brand, motion, or video design, with a portfolio of shipped work-launch videos, social content, and motion graphics you made yourself.
  • Full-stack creative: comfortable across animation, editing, design tools, and ideally code-driven video like Remotion or similar.
  • A smart storyteller -you can find the narrative in a technical product update and make people actually care in 30 seconds.
  • Experience with developer or technical audiences strongly preferred; you know the difference between content that developers respect and slop they scroll past.
  • Creatively autonomous: scrappy, fast, self-directed, and happy owning everything from concept to publish.
  • You use AI tools throughout your creative workflow, and you're curious about staying up to date with the latest and greatest.

The base pay for the Brand & Motion Designer position ranges from $150k/year to $300k/year. Pay is based on several factors and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
About you
  • You are extremely high agency. We are a small startup and we intend to keep an extremely flat organizational structure for as long as possible. Instead of relying on people managers, product managers and heavy processes, we rely on exceptionally talented individuals with high agency to be self-motivated towards contributing to our mission.
  • You want to work at an early stage start-up. The default state of any startup is failure. The only way to overcome the daunting odds of making a startup venture successful is for a densely packed group of insanely hard working and talented people to work together to building something useful to and loved by customers. If you're not willing to work extremely hard on something high risk, this startup isn't for you.
  • You act like an owner. You put immense care and craft into what you build because you take responsibility for all parts of the product. You don't walk past broken windows.
  • You care about what we're building. Life's too short to work on something you're not passionate about. We are a small group of ambitious people who want to build something insanely great that we want to use, and that we think every company will want to use. If our mission and product doesn't resonate with you, we understand and would encourage you to find something that does.

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