About the role

You’ll play a key role in shaping and refining engaging player experiences across multiple projects. From defining game mechanics, progression systems, and player rewards to ensuring the overall design vision is followed, you’ll help bring ideas to life in a way that is fun, balanced, and impactful.

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Beyond crafting gameplay systems, you’ll be the guardian of great game design, constantly reviewing progress to ensure consistency and that player needs remain at the heart of development.

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You’ll collaborate closely with the fish in a bottle team to translate ideas into clear, structured design documents and help guide projects from concept to completion.

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This role is more than just designing mechanics - it’s about championing gameplay, refining player experiences, and ensuring every design choice enhances the final game.

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You’ll also have the opportunity to contribute to pitch writing and game ideation, helping to shape new projects and bring fresh ideas to the table.

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What you'll be doing

• Designing and refining game concepts to create engaging and well-balanced experiences.
• Developing and maintaining clear, structured game design documentation, ensuring ideas are well-communicated and actionable.
• Reviewing game development progress, ensuring design consistency and that the player experience remains a top priority.
• Iterating on designs through playtesting and analysis, making adjustments to improve engagement, challenge, and fun.
• Providing creative input on new and ongoing projects, helping to shape concepts and expand design possibilities.
• Supporting pitch writing and game ideation, contributing to new ideas and helping to win new work.

What we're looking for

• A strong understanding of game design principles, including mechanics, progression, and player engagement.
• Experience creating and refining gameplay systems.
• Excellent documentation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate design ideas.
• A player-first mindset, always considering balance, pacing, and engagement.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• A problem-solving approach, able to iterate on designs based on feedback and playtesting.

Bonus points if you have:

• Experience working on multiple game genres, particularly survival, educational, or progression-based games.
• Exposure to pitch writing and game ideation.

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About fish in a bottle

Our mission is to make the world better through playable experiences.

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For over twenty years we’ve collaborated with visionary innovators, brands and educators, making us one of the most experienced interactive studios in the world.

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We work with visionaries to create commercial hits, award winners and purposeful products that improve people’s lives.

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We create games, apps and web platforms that educate, train, raise awareness, promote social change and positively impact people’s lives.

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Things to know

Some of the project work you'll be doing is funded by Innovate UK, which comes with a regional requirement. As a result, this role is open to applicants who are based in Coventry and Warwickshire or those willing to relocate.

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If you're not currently in the area but are open to relocating, we'd love to hear from you. Please confirm in your application if you'd be happy to relocate if successful.

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There is the need to travel from time to time to attend client and company meetings.

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Please consider your ability to travel occasionally when applying for this position.

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The position is open to anyone eligible to work in the UK.

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• CV
• A brief introduction and tell us a bit about yourself, why you like the sound of the role and fish in bottle and, if you’re not based in Coventry or Warwickshire, that you’d be happy to relocate if your offered the job.
• Any portfolio work
• Salary expectations.

We carefully review each application, but unfortunately we’re not able to get back to everyone individually. If we’d like to progress with your application we’ll be in touch with you within two weeks.

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No recruitment agencies, please. Direct candidates only.

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Equality

We are committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively, we uphold these principles in our behaviour and working practices. We are therefore committed to promoting equality at every opportunity and our recruitment and employment practices and procedures actively promote equality of opportunity.

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