Senior Game Designer II, VR
Axon - Boston, MA
posted 3 days ago
About the position
Join Axon and be a Force for Good. At Axon, we're on a mission to Protect Life. We're explorers, pursuing society's most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other. Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you'll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter. Build VR Solutions for Social Good: Police primarily go through 40-hours of in-service training outside of the academy a year, where most of that time is spent on topics like firearm recertification, CPR recertification, and other various topics. There is not enough time to train on all the things police need to be aware of. Additionally, if they do learn it at their in-service, they practice it once or twice and then are expected to remember what they learned 8 months down the road when they encounter that situation, under stress. Our goal is to make training that can be more accessible, more memorable, and done more frequently. We call this "Roll Call" training and it is training that can be done before and after a shift to keep skills sharp. The problem we are trying to solve is simple: public-safety training is broken. When we think about the ways police train today, there are several key challenges: ineffective training, training that is not scalable, and cost. Axon's VR team strives to create engaging and effective training that provides scenario feedback. Our mission is to help make Community Engagement Training and less-lethal weapon training (like TASER) so that officers are prepared to use these alternatives to Use of Force. Given that majority police interactions involve verbal and non-verbal interactions, we are putting an emphasis on hand gestures and natural language processing to factor in the trainee's body language, as well as what they say and how they say it. The vision is that all together will impact how the trainee interacts with the NPC (Non-Playable Characters) in the training scenario. Meanwhile a trainer is able to observe these interactions and provide feedback to the trainee through a post-training debrief, with all of these products tying back into the Axon Ecosystem through Axon Academy, Axon Evidence, Axon Performance, and Axon Standards.
Responsibilities
- Design and develop VR training simulations and experiences that meet specific learning objectives and user needs.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including developers, artists, and subject matter experts to ensure effective and high-quality product delivery.
- Conduct user research, play-tests, and gather feedback to iterate and improve training simulations.
- Create detailed design documents, wireframes, and 2D/3D prototypes to communicate design concepts and solutions.
- Develop narrative frameworks and rule sets to guide the progression and flow of VR training simulations.
- Proficiency in level design for training simulations, understanding customer needs and input from SMEs to design effective levels, including realistic blocking and managing spawning points.
- Stay up-to-date with the latest VR technologies, trends, and best practices to continuously enhance the quality and effectiveness of our training solutions.
- Ensure the usability, playability (as well as replay-ability) and accessibility of VR training experiences for a diverse range of users.
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience as a Game Designer, Bachelor's degree in Game Design, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- Demonstrated leadership skills, with the ability to present, mentor and guide junior team members, and lead cross-functional project teams.
- Proven experience designing highly engaging VR, Games, and or interactive training simulations.
- Proven ability to communicate and drive cross functional alignment on Design values and standards via robust documentation.
- Proficiency in using game development tools and software such as Unity or Unreal Engine.
- Ability to quickly design and build prototypes in 3D and VR to test out ideas and concepts with the team.
- Strong understanding of VR technologies, including hardware and software capabilities.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically and creatively.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work with and across multi-discipline team environments.
- Passion for creating impactful and compelling training experiences in VR.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with instructional design or educational technologies.
- Knowledge of UX/UI principles and best practices for VR.
- Experience in narrative design, including creating storylines, dialogues, and rule sets for interactive experiences.
- Familiarity with scripting languages such as C# or Python.
- Experience with 3D modeling and animation software.
- Ability to communicate ideas quickly through storyboard, sketches and rapid prototypes.
- Understanding of human-computer interaction (HCI) and ergonomics in VR.
- Experience designing and integrating AI into gameplay.
Benefits
- Competitive salary and 401K with employer match.
- Discretionary paid time off.
- Robust parental leave policy.
- An award-winning office/working environment.
- Ride along with real police officers in real life situations, explore wide range of third-party VR content, get inspired.
- Get paid to play.
- And more...
