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Hi, I’m Daniel Cairney, a graduate Games Designer with two years’ experience in Unity and Unreal Engine 5 across several projects. I enjoy building game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and I’ve led a four-person team, coordinating design decisions and solving challenges to deliver polished gameplay experiences. I’ve created in-game play spaces, worlds, and level designs, and I wrote design briefs for teammates while using GitHub for version control and Unity for development. I’m eager to expand my skills in game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics and to grow as a designer and project manager within a collaborative, fast-paced team. I’m excited to continue learning, prototyping, and refining ideas from concept through QA feedback to release.…Hi, I’m Daniel Cairney, a graduate Games Designer with two years’ experience in Unity and Unreal Engine 5 across several projects. I enjoy building game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and I’ve led a four-person team, coordinating design decisions and solving challenges to deliver polished gameplay experiences. I’ve created in-game play spaces, worlds, and level designs, and I wrote design briefs for teammates while using GitHub for version control and Unity for development. I’m eager to expand my skills in game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics and to grow as a designer and project manager within a collaborative, fast-paced team. I’m excited to continue learning, prototyping, and refining ideas from concept through QA feedback to release.

Daniel Cairney

Game Designer, Project Manager, Game Developer, +4

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Hi, I’m Daniel Cairney, a graduate Games Designer with two years’ experience in Unity and Unreal Engine 5 across several projects. I enjoy building game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and I’ve led a four-person team, coordinating design decisions and solving challenges to deliver polished gameplay experiences. I’ve created in-game play spaces, worlds, and level designs, and I wrote design briefs for teammates while using GitHub for version control and Unity for development. I’m eager to expand my skills in game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics and to grow as a designer and project manager within a collaborative, fast-paced team. I’m excited to continue learning, prototyping, and refining ideas from concept through QA feedback to release.…Hi, I’m Daniel Cairney, a graduate Games Designer with two years’ experience in Unity and Unreal Engine 5 across several projects. I enjoy building game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and I’ve led a four-person team, coordinating design decisions and solving challenges to deliver polished gameplay experiences. I’ve created in-game play spaces, worlds, and level designs, and I wrote design briefs for teammates while using GitHub for version control and Unity for development. I’m eager to expand my skills in game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics and to grow as a designer and project manager within a collaborative, fast-paced team. I’m excited to continue learning, prototyping, and refining ideas from concept through QA feedback to release.

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Daniel Cairney, a graduate Games Designer with two years’ experience in Unity and Unreal Engine 5 across several projects. I enjoy building game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, and I’ve led a four-person team, coordinating design decisions and solving challenges to deliver polished gameplay experiences. I’ve created in-game play spaces, worlds, and level designs, and I wrote design briefs for teammates while using GitHub for version control and Unity for development.

I’m eager to expand my skills in game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics and to grow as a designer and project manager within a collaborative, fast-paced team. I’m excited to continue learning, prototyping, and refining ideas from concept through QA feedback to release.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

English

Fluent

Dutch

Fluent

Work Experience

Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, Project Manager at SAE Creative Media Institute

August 31, 2024 - July 23, 2025

Responsible for project and time management for the team. Constructed game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics as well as visual design. Developed in-game play spaces, world, and level designs. Created game design briefs for programmers. Used Unity for development, GitHub for version control, and Codecks for project management. Led a team of four and collaborated on design choices and solutions.

Retail Assistant at Target | Cessnock

October 31, 2024 - July 23, 2025

Handled customer service duties including cash handling, point of sale, managing layby and customer returns in a fast-paced retail environment.

Games Designer Intern at Sweaty Chair Games Studio

October 31, 2024 - July 23, 2025

Ideation and implementation of new game content. Worked within a well-managed team with specific roles. Conducted quality assurance testing, used GIT Fork for version control and Miro for ideation. Incorporated player feedback from online and SXSW Sydney events. Prototyped and polished game features based on QA and feedback. Managed data and project timelines.

Intern at Sweaty Chair

October 31, 2024 - September 18, 2025

Ideation and implementation of new content for the game; QA testing for game builds; version control with Git Fork; collaboration in a well-managed team with separate roles; gathering feedback from players online and at SXSW Sydney to improve the game; prototyping and polishing for QA and player feedback; data management and project management.

Lead Game Designer; Level Designer; Project Manager at Unity Retail Assistant

August 1, 2024 - September 18, 2025

Led game design and level design tasks; managed project workflow; collaborated using Unity; responsible for design decisions and QA; maintained version control with Git; supported ideation and iteration.

Retail Assistant at Target

August 31, 2024 - September 18, 2025

Customer service, cash handling, point of sale, and handling lay-by and customer returns.

Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, Project Manager at SAE Creative Media Institute

October 31, 2024 - September 18, 2025

Internship: Ideation and implementation of new content for the game. Worked in a well-managed team with separate roles. QA testing for game builds. Using Git Fork for version control and Miro for ideation. Prototyping and polishing in relation to QA and player feedback.

Lead Game Designer / Level Designer / Project Manager

August 1, 2024 - October 22, 2025

Led a four-person team and collaborated on design choices and solutions. Created in-game play space, world, and level designs. Wrote game design briefs for team programmers. Used Unity for development and GitHub for version control. Managed project tasks and QA feedback, coordinating iterations with the team.