Principal Game Designer Jobs

Pantograph is building general purpose robots by training models on internet-scale video. We believe the path to capable robots runs through general intelligence rather than narrow, robot-specific skills. We believe there is an enormous amount of work worth doing that would make life better for people. As AI models make it easier to build software around our needs, we believe robots can give people that same power to shape the physical world.

Across research, hardware, and software, we believe in finding simple ideas that work, doing them extremely well, and scaling them up. We value clear thinking, careful execution, and systems we can understand, trust, and improve.

We're looking for an in-house game designer to help invent how people interact with our robots. Great games let people understand complex worlds, act intuitively, and discover possibilities through experimentation. We think this craft is especially suited to making robots feel approachable and giving people expressive, responsive ways to work with them. You'll design the experience our customers and partners use to explore what their robots can do, give them tasks, and understand what's happening, bringing warmth and imagination to a new part of everyday life.

You'll have substantial ownership over the experience, from first setup to everyday use. You'll work with our early customers and our hardware, research, and software teams, taking ideas from sketches to playable prototypes to a finished product. The work could include controls, camera views, interactive 3D scenes, animation, sound, and how the robot communicates progress or asks for help. You'll also help carry Pantograph's visual identity through the product and other early customer touchpoints.

We're looking for strong design intuition, artistic sensibility, and a drive to build things people love to use. You might come from indie games, game art, interaction design, or a practice that spans all three. You should enjoy making things yourself and putting them in people's hands. You don't need to be an expert programmer, but you should be comfortable using AI tools to build and revise working prototypes, with support from our software team.

You might be a good fit if you:

• Have made games or interactive experiences with a distinct point of view and careful attention to craft

• Have strong instincts for visual design, interaction, and what makes something feel good to use

• Enjoy inventing controls, feedback, and ways of teaching people through interaction

• Move quickly from an idea to something people can try, and enjoy learning through playtesting

• Care about the details of motion, timing, sound, and responsiveness

• Can use game engines, creative tools, or AI coding tools to bring your ideas to life

• Enjoy watching people use what you've made and refining it based on what you learn

• Can explain your decisions and collaborate with people from different disciplines

• Have a good feel for brand and can help give our product a consistent visual identity

• Are drawn to the emotional register, warmth, and sense of possibility in games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, and are excited to bring that sensibility to interacting with a robot

Bonus if you've worked with:

• Indie games or small teams where you've owned several parts of the experience

• Games that make complex systems easy to understand and interact with

• 3D art, animation, spatial interaction, or sound design

• Physical installations, playful hardware, or experiences that connect digital and physical worlds

We'd love to see games, artwork, or interactive projects you've made, including something we can play or try. Tell us what you contributed and what you cared most about getting right.

We care much more about what you've built than credentials. We're a small, fast-moving team working together in person in San Francisco. If this sounds exciting to you, we want to hear from you.