Demo

Senior Technical Designer

Naughty Dog
Santa Monica, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 6/7/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/5/2026
This is a hybrid/ onsite position.

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Parts I and II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we’re busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we’d love to find talented individuals to join us.

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

What You Will Do

  • Prototyping, implementing, and owning gameplay scenarios, narrative sequences, interactive objects, AI behaviors, and other mechanics and systems.
  • Communicating with animation, programming, and art departments to effectively produce the assets and code support required for the areas you’re owning.
  • Fostering team cohesion, advising design leadership regarding communication breakdowns and personality conflicts.
  • Working with minimal supervision while keeping lead designers and directors well-informed.

What Skills You Will Use

  • 5 years of industry experience in Technical Design for games
  • 2 shipped games
  • Significant programming ability (Computer Science undergraduate degree preferred)
  • Deep understanding of narrative principles and how to convey emotion through gameplay
  • Expertise in 3D math
  • Fluent in C , C#, Lua, or other text-based scripting language
  • Ability to identify and act on opportunities for improvements to tools and workflows that can help the team be more efficient
  • Self-starter with excellent communication and teamwork skills

Bonus Skills

  • Experience developing third-person action games
  • Experience with the following areas of design
    • Behavior Trees
    • Narrative Gameplay Sequences
    • Encounter Design
At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package. Click here to learn more.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$145,100—$181,400 USD

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.

Salary : $145,100 - $181,400

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Senior Technical Designer?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Senior Technical Designer career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$90,632 - $119,010
Income Estimation: 
$121,258 - $158,009
Income Estimation: 
$90,632 - $119,010
Income Estimation: 
$121,258 - $158,009
Employees: Get a Salary Increase
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Naughty Dog

  • Naughty Dog Santa Monica, CA
  • This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner YOH Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States... more
  • 6 Days Ago

  • Naughty Dog Santa Monica, CA
  • This is a hybrid/ onsite position. For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the bou... more
  • 9 Days Ago

  • Naughty Dog Santa Monica, CA
  • This position is for temporary engagement through our staffing partner, Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United State... more
  • 9 Days Ago

  • Naughty Dog Santa Monica, CA
  • This position is for a temporary engagement through our staffing partner Yoh Enterprise Solutions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United Stat... more
  • 9 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Senior Technical Designer jobs in the Santa Monica, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • LEO A DALY Los Angeles, CA
  • Job Type Full-time Description Job Summary The Technical Designer IV Architecture develops technical aspects of projects, including investigation, evaluati... more
  • 21 Days Ago

  • FIGS Santa Monica, CA
  • As a Senior Technical Designer, you will collaborate with cross functional teams to execute premium medical apparel products from concept through pre-produ... more
  • 4 Days Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!