Design Director, Systems - Diablo

As a Systems Design Director , you will lead our talented team of designers on Diablo, overseeing high-level game systems, player progression, social engagement features, and overall game balance. You will guide and mentor a group of seasoned lead designers, setting a strategic vision to deliver compelling and balanced gameplay systems to millions of passionate players worldwide.

This role offers a flexible hybrid work week, with a mix of remote and on-site days. While hybrid is the standard arrangement, you’re also welcome to work on-site full-time if you prefer. Our primary studio locations are in Albany, NY, and Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Develop and communicate a clear, compelling vision for progression, social, gameplay, and balance systems.

• Ensure design alignment across multiple teams, fostering consistency and cohesion within the player experience.

• Coordinate across departments (Art, Engineering, Production, UX/UI, QA, Live Operations) to facilitate smooth and effective cross-team collaboration.

• Maintain a deep understanding of Diablo’s core mechanics, player motivations, and community expectations to inform system evolution.

• Lead the creation and refinement of progression and reward structures, social engagement mechanics, competitive leaderboards, and economy systems.

• Oversee the tuning and iteration of gameplay balance, ensuring fair and engaging experiences at all levels of player skill and progression.

• Provide mentorship, guidance, and career development to a team of experienced Lead Systems Designers.

• Represent Systems Design in cross-disciplinary leadership discussions, advocating effectively for team goals and player experience.

• 12+ years of professional systems design experience in games, with 4+ years leading design teams.

• Extensive, hands-on experience developing progression systems, game economies, social features, and balancing complex gameplay ecosystems in live-service games.

• Deep understanding of the Diablo series, ARPG mechanics, player psychology, and what motivates player retention and satisfaction.

• Exceptional analytical skills; able to clearly communicate complex systems and balance concepts to both designers and non-designers.

• Proven track record managing and mentoring teams of experienced designers, demonstrating strong interpersonal and leadership skills.

• Strong collaboration and communication skills with experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in a highly iterative environment.

• Demonstrated passion for games, systems design and staying current with industry trends and competitor strategies.

• Dedication to quality, passion for gameplay, and a deep respect for the player’s experience.

• Commitment to a culture of iteration, transparency, mentorship, and constant improvement.

Bonus Points

• Shipped multiple successful AAA ARPG or RPG titles.

• Experience navigating large organizations and maintaining clarity of vision across large-scale development efforts.

• Technical familiarity with data-driven design tools and scripting languages.

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $126,800.00 - $234,580.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. ( www.blizzard.com ), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world’s largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush and Bubble Witch . Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment . We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.