Technical Accessibility Designer (Contract)

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PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

Join the award-winning team that created God of War

Santa Monica Studio is seeking a Technical Accessibility Designer for the development of a new unannounced title!

As a Technical Accessibility Designer, you will blend your passion for accessibility in games with your established technical experience to be the primary design owner collaborating with design, art, and engineering teams across the studio to implement and tune best-in-class accessibility features and systems.
Responsibilities

Act as the key stakeholder in design discussions, advocating for a diverse range of player experiences and provide a proactive voice by engaging with other departments throughout the process
Anticipate and identify potential issues by guiding departments to incorporate accessibility considerations
Design and implement accessibility features and work with engineering, art, and design, to scope and schedule work, and usher those designs through to completion
Be aware of and account for emerging challenges based on design changes or future testing data
Support the design of hardware-specific features such as haptic feedback, adaptive controls, etc
Consistently play through game content, analyzing, validating, and providing feedback on accessibility features - work with production and design leadership to translate feedback into scheduled, practical tasks
Contribute to design discussions and support collaboration, communication, and creativity across all teams and departments
Work closely with UI/UX Lead, directors, and other departments leads to determine design, technical, and data requirements for game features
Mentor other accessibility designers to improve their design, scripting, and implementation capability

Requirements

Strong proficiency with scripting languages (Lua, ActionScript, C#, Python, React JS, etc.) and experience with a visual scripting system (Blueprints, etc.)
Experience in specifying, advocating for, and implementing accessibility features in games
Skilled knowledge of design patterns for a wide range of accessibility needs
Familiarity with the barriers that people with disabilities face in gaming
Collaborative and inclusive attitude with the ability to listen, learn, and adapt to alternate views and approaches
Strong communication skills and ability to present work and respond quickly to feedback
Experience mentoring and training other designers
Self-motivated, collaborative, excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Preferred Experience

Being certified through the AbleGamers accessibility course.
Deep familiarity with God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarök
Experience working on action RPG’s
Computer Science or Engineering background