Lead/Principal Systems Designer

OUR STUDIO

At Housemarque, we believe gameplay always comes first. With technical excellence and compelling narrative, spiced with our trademark neon flair and top-notch audiovisual feedback, we want our players to always feel actively engaged with the worlds we have created for them.

Our latest Award-Winning game Returnal, released on PS5 in 2021, embraces all these qualities. THIS is our DNA!

We value Nordic work-life balance by growing sustainably and ensuring our employees have the time and means to develop personally and professionally during work time.

We were established in 1995 with strong roots in the Finnish demoscene. In June 2021 we joined the PlayStation Studios, after years of partnership.

If you wish to join us for our next journey, apply today!

We are looking for Systems Designer for our next big game!

THE JOB

As the Systems Designer of the talented and passionate design team behind RETURNAL you will work closely with a team of gameplay, UI/UX, narrative, and content designers and the Design Director to help drive the development of scalable gameplay and progression systems in the next evolution of Housemarque games.

You will remain hands-on where it adds the most value, while primarily focusing on leadership, system ownership, and project-wide alignment.

What will your day-to-day look like?

• Own the vision, design, and long-term health of core gameplay and progression systems

• Lead the design of scalable, modular systems that support iteration and content growth

• Partner closely with engineering to shape system architecture, data workflows, and tooling

• Ensure systems are fully integrated across gameplay, UI/UX, narrative, and content teams

• Act as the primary point of ownership and decision-making for system-related work

• Guide and mentor designers, setting quality bars and best practices

• Drive documentation, standards, and workflows that enable efficient cross-discipline development

• Identify and manage system-level risks, dependencies, and long-term sustainability concerns

What will help you to be successful in this role?

• Extensive professional experience in game development with a strong systems design focus

• Proven track record shipping console and/or PC titles

• Experience leading complex systems across multi-disciplinary teams

• Strong technical understanding of engines, scripting, data, and design tools

• Background designing progression systems, economies, or other large-scale gameplay frameworks

• Clear communicator with strong judgment and a collaborative leadership mindset

What we offer to you?

• Competitive salary, benefits, healthcare & Nordic work-life balance

• Tailored immigration and relocation package to help you get settled into Finland

• State-of-the-art studio facilities in the heart of Helsinki

• Freedom, flexibility and openness in a collaborative culture

• Brilliant, diverse and empathetic colleagues to work with

• Exciting and ambitious projects executed with the best tools

• Access to PlayStation Studios collaboration, games and more!

Interested?

This is a permanent, full-time position based in Helsinki, Finland.

We will start interviewing promising candidates immediately so please apply as soon as possible.

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Housemarque is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to a culture of inclusion and mutual respect for all employees from every walk of life, reflecting the community we make games for. We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race and ethnicity, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships. We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity.