What are the responsibilities and job description for the Combat Designer position at AGBO?
About the Company:
Founded in 2017 by Anthony and Joe Russo, AGBO is an artist-led independent studio shaping the future of film and television. The Russo Brothers and AGBO have generated more than $7 billion at the global box office, including Avengers: Endgame. The studio’s projects include Academy Award–winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, Netflix hits The Gray Man and Extraction, and Prime Video’s visceral thriller The Bluff and the global Citadel franchise.
AGBO is currently in production with Netflix on Tygo and Mercenary, both part of the Extraction universe, as well as with Lionsgate on John Rambo, a prequel to the iconic franchise. The studio is in post-production on The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro, and Avengers: Doomsday, which will be released December 18, 2026. AGBO will begin shooting Avengers: Secret Wars later this year. Both upcoming Avengers films are directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and co-produced by AGBO and Marvel Studios.
In 2023, AGBO welcomed Donald Mustard—former Chief Creative Officer at Epic Games and co-creator of Fortnite—as a partner. Mustard brings a bold creative vision to AGBO: to expand what storytelling can be through immersive, interconnected worlds that span across media. We’re building the future of storytelling—and we’re looking for bold, creative minds to help shape it. If you’re ready to help define what comes next, we’d love to meet you. Position Summary: AGBO is looking for a Combat Designer to be hands-on in designing and implementing the moment-to-moment gameplay that defines how our games feel in action. You’re a system-savvy, feel-first designer who understands that great combat lives at the intersection of character, camera, and controls – and you know how to bring those elements together in ways that deliver precision and fluidity while being rewarding to play. Working closely with programmers, animators, and other designers, you’ll help shape and refine the core combat loop – from prototyping new ideas to tuning the final experience. This is a hands-on, high-impact role on an ambitious team creating something special and exciting.
Key Responsibilities:
- Contribute to the design, implementation, and iteration on combat systems including player abilities, hit reactions, and moment-to-moment flow, building a player experience that is intuitive to learn and deeply rewarding to master
- Prototype combat scenarios and encounters in-engine using scripting and design tools to rapidly test and validate feel, balance, and readability before full production
- Partner with Animation, VFX, and Audio teams to ensure combat actions feel responsive and impactful
- Contribute to and maintain combat design documentation including system specs, encounter design guidelines, tuning spreadsheets, and balance frameworks that keep the team aligned
- Playtest rigorously and advocate for the player, synthesizing feedback from internal sessions and external playtests into actionable design revisions with a clear rationale
- Collaborate with leadership to ensure combat mechanics reinforce character identity and story context – making sure the ‘how’ of fighting always serves the ‘why’
- Perform all other duties as assigned
Qualifications & Skills:
- 3-6 years of professional game design experience, with at least one shipped title where combat or action systems were a significant part of your contribution
- Hands-on proficiency in Unreal Engine 5, with the ability to prototype and implement combat scenarios directly in-engine without heavy engineering support
- A strong foundation in game design principles
- Experience working cross-functionally with animation, engineering, and VFX pipelines, with an understanding of how technical constraints shape design decisions and how to advocate for quality within them
Additional Information:
- This role is based in Raleigh, NC, and we are primarily seeking candidates who are currently located in the area or are open to relocating. In-person collaboration with our technical and creative teams is essential to the success of this position.
- Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
AGBO Labs LLC is committed to operating fair and unbiased recruitment procedures allowing all applicants an equal opportunity for employment, free from discrimination on the basis of religion, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, color, ethnic or national origin or any other classification as may be protected by applicable law. We aim to recruit the right people for the jobs we have to offer, and to assess applications on the basis of relevant skills, education and experience.
AGBO participates in E-Verify - English | Spanish
The job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent to this position.