THE MISSION
Sonzai Labs is building social-first mobile games.
You'll design core systems and social loops for two flagship titles:
- TeleMafia
: a Telegram-based social mafia RPG where group chats become crime families. - Alter Ego
: an anime-style game focused on character, narrative, and collection.
Your designs will turn chats into arenas, friends into factions, and sessions into stories worth sharing.
Game Designer (Systems & Social/F2P)
Own the player experience from first session to long-term retention. You'll craft systems, rules, content, and economy, then validate with data and iteration.
You will:
- Define
core, meta, and social loops
(onboarding → progression → mid/late game). - Design
combat/interaction systems
, family/clan mechanics, and chat-native play for Telegram. - Build and balance
economy systems
(currencies, sinks/sources, pacing, rewards). - Write specs for features (gacha, events, territory control, quests, live ops) with clear KPIs.
- Prototype in engine or tools; run
A/B tests
and telemetry reviews to drive decisions. - Author content frameworks: quest templates, encounter tables, difficulty curves.
- Collaborate tightly with Art, Unity FE, Mini-App FE, and Backend to ship on time and to spec.
- Maintain
living design docs
and communicate trade-offs crisply.
WHAT YOU'LL DESIGN
- Social systems that feel native to chat: assists, raids, gifts, family roles, status, diplomacy.
- Competitive/cooperative modes: family wars, respect ladders, territory control.
- Event architectures: seasonal arcs, time-boxed challenges, limited banners.
- Fair F2P monetization: bundles, passes, offers aligned with fun and player trust.
- Progression frameworks: characters, loadouts, upgrades, mastery, prestige.
- Tutorials & FTUE that get players to "aha" in under 60 seconds.
MUST-HAVES
- 3-6+ years as a Game Designer (systems/live/F2P) on shipped mobile titles.
- Proven ability to design economies and progression with measurable outcomes.
- Strong spec writing; turn vision into implementable, testable work.
- Comfort with telemetry & iteration (funnels, cohorts, retention, monetization KPIs).
- Spreadsheet fluency (balancing, simulations); basic SQL or analytics tooling a plus.
- Collaborative, low-ego communicator; can work on-site in Jakarta.
NICE-TO-HAVES
- Experience with Telegram Mini Apps or chat-based UX.
- Working heuristics from Cookie Run, Arknights, Nikke, Clash, Genshin (inspiration, not clones).
- Scripting or prototyping chops (Unity tools, Lua/C#, Google Sheets scripting).
- Content pipeline familiarity: modular events, banner planning, localization workflows.
- LiveOps experience: calendars, cadences, reward ladders, offer strategies.
COLLABORATION & TOOLING
- Engines/Front-end:
Unity, (Telegram Mini App) - Back-end:
Golang/TypeScript services (real-time/social) - Analytics:
PostHog or similar (cohorts, events, A/B) - Workflow:
Figma, GDocs, Notion, Sheets; clear PRDs/GDDs and design reviews - Partner Teams:
Art, Engineering, LiveOps, Community, Marketing
WHY JOIN SONZAI LABS
- Shape the core experience of two ambitious, social-first IPs.
- Ship fast with a upcoming startup that prizes craft + velocity.
- End-to-end ownership from concept to scale, with real player impact.
- Competitive compensation and meaningful equity for the best candidates.
- Creative, collaborative culture in Jakarta.
INTERESTED?
Send your portfolio/CV and a short write-up of a system you designed (loop, economy, or event) including the goal, the model/balance approach, and the metrics that proved it worked.