Video Game Designer

Pilots don't train with real passengers. Actors don't rehearse with real audiences. Yet, the most consequential decisions in society are often pushed straight to production.

Simile is changing that. We have built the first AI simulation of society, populated by generative agents based on real humans. Our research pioneered the field of AI-based simulation, proving it is possible to model human behavior with high accuracy. Today, we are developing a Foundation Model to predict human behavior in any situation, at any scale.

We are backed by $100M in funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Hanabi, A*, Bain Capital Ventures, and AI visionaries including Andrej Karpathy, Fei-Fei Li, Adam D'Angelo, and Guillermo Rauch.

Here’s the problem. Every AI company website is the same: a hero image, a tagline, some customer logos, and “Book a Demo.” We build living worlds for a living, so our website should be a place for exploration.

We’ll give you a town full of simulated people. You’ll turn it into a living, breathing place for people to discover. None of this exists yet, but you’ll build it. That’s the job: build us a website that feels like Smallville. Populate it. Make it move. Make the people who land on it want to stay, play with it, and send it to someone else.

• Build the world: Design and ship a website that feels like Smallville — interactive, alive, and worth exploring rather than a static landing page.

• Populate it: Bring our simulated people into the browser and give visitors a world to wander through, not just a page to scroll.

• Make it move: Create the motion, interactivity, and game feel that turns a visit into play.

• Own it end-to-end: Take the experience from blank canvas to production, making the design, engineering, and craft calls along the way.

• Make it spread: Build something people want to stay in, play with, and send to a friend.

Must Haves

• Game Sense: You’ve shipped a game. A jam entry, a weird side project, anything real that people actually played. You know what makes play feel good.

• Web Craft: Strong command of modern web technologies and the ability to build performant, interactive experiences in the browser.

• Judgment: You know the difference between an interactive thing that feels alive and one that feels clunky.

• Ownership Mindset: A desire to own the whole thing end-to-end.

Nice to Haves

• You’ve built a game that found a large audience, or shipped commercially.

• You can make pixel art yourself — sprites, tiles, little worlds — or direct artists who can.

• You’re curious what AI agents get up to when you hand them a world.

At Simile, we provide competitive compensation packages that include base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.

• Salary Range: $150,000 – $250,000 USD

  • Note: Final offers are based on experience, specialized skills, interview performance, and relevant training.

• Equity: Grants are available for eligible roles, subject to board approval.

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Time Off: Flexible time off policies to support work-life balance.

We prioritize thoughtful conversations and clear examples of past work. Our hiring journey is designed to help both sides align on fit, working style, and expectations.

Reapplication Policy: To ensure a fair and thorough evaluation for all applicants, Simile observes a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role.

Equal Opportunity: Simile is an equal opportunity workplace. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities, valuing an environment where everyone can contribute authentically.

Accommodations: If you require support or reasonable accommodations during the application process due to a disability, please let us know. We are happy to assist.