Game Design Director, Electronic Arts
Incubation Team
$158.8-300.9k
Salary applicable to US candidates and is dependent on location
Video game company
Job no longer available
Video game company
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
$158.8-300.9k
Salary applicable to US candidates and is dependent on location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To inspire the world to play, by creating games and experiences for the global player community that are a reflection of our diverse world.
Role
Who you are
- Minimum 10 years of hands-on experience building player-facing content in game design roles (player-facing work in a technical scripting role will also meet this qualification.)
- At least 5 years of experience managing game designers
- Significant professional experience designing Multiplayer FPS experiences
- Experience in systems design such as core player-facing rulesets and large interconnecting frameworks
What the job involves
- We are looking for a Design Director to join our incubation game team
- The role reports to the Game Director and carries substantial creative and managerial responsibility for the design team
- This is a rare leadership opportunity to drive the game design on a new incubation project in the early stages
- You seek a role where your organizational and leadership skills can grow further, and you are excited to take on the challenges of leading a game design department
- You value a gameplay-focused culture that works to build trust, connection and candidness within the team
- No crunch or overtime. We do not glorify or encourage this behavior
- In collaboration with the team, develop and refine a design vision that supports the overall game direction and project goals. Lead the identification of major game design needs, drive the invention and implementation of key features, and achieve successful results from a player-centric perspective
- Ensure team-wide alignment around ongoing game design activities and a general understanding of design team intent and reasoning across the whole dev team
- Address concerns, drive solutions on design problems, and close the loop on frequent playtesting feedback
- Coordinate with leaders in other disciplines, adapt to practical constraints, and produce creative alternatives
- Lead the design team, achieving a sustainable, high level of team performance. Coach and help designers grow in craft and career areas. Handle routine administrative duties related to managing a team. Advocate for the needs of the game design department, and cultivate healthy relationships with other disciplines
- Own all of design hiring. Lead all design interview panels, debriefings, and new hire onboarding on both craft and culture. Iterate on hiring practices and skills after each experience
- Model our culture and development practices. Build an inclusive work environment. Help us tend team health and culture to build a great game development experience as well as a great game
Our take
EA is a leading global game company, responsible for developing and publishing some of the biggest games of the last 20 years. Its publishing successes include giants like The Sims, Battlefield, and Mass Effect, while EA's titles, such as Fifa, Madden, and NBA Live, have also seen market-leading success.
A series of acquisitions in 2021 marked EA's push into mobile gaming, which has become the driving force behind the rapid growth of the global video gaming market, and has remained a clear focus for the company, despite the cancellation of its popular Apex Legends Mobile game. The company also expressed interest in NFTs and "play-to-earn" games, going so far as to label them "the future of the industry", but has since taken steps to distance itself from the idea, as it proved unpopular with gamers.
This combined model of publishing and development has allowed EA to put its name to a huge range of products, making the brand iconic in the gaming world. It has formed major partnerships with the likes of Disney, giving it full control of creating in-demand games, such as within the Star Wars franchise. In the upcoming years, the company plans to focus on games-as-a-service, as it embraces the evolution of the gaming world.
Steph
Company Specialist
Insights
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Dec 1982
$2m
SERIES A
May 1982
$0.2m
SEED
Total funding: $2.2m
Company values
- Creativity: Striving to bring imagination, orginal ideals, and excitement to everything we do
- Pioneering: Acting with the curiosity and courage that it takes to experiment, innovate, and lead
- Passion: We are at our best when we pursue what we love, and have fun doing it
- Determination: Bringing focus, drive, and conviction to our actions. Thriving on the journey, and being mortivated to achieve excellence
- Learning: Listening, having humility, being open to new ways of thinking, and looking with a lens of inclusion. Challenging ourselves to grow and change as a company
- Teamwork: Committed to each other, and to the accountability and integrity tit takes to be a successful diverse team
Company HQ
Redwood Shores, Redwood City, CA
Articles
Leadership
Andrew Wilson
(CEO, not founder)Joined EA as Vice President and Executive Producer in 2000, and held various senior roles before being promoted to CEO.
Salary benchmarks
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Electronic Arts
- Our intentional efforts to embed principles of diversity, equity and inclusion in our people practices have generated results across our teams.
- We have made progress in company-wide representation of women and underrepresented minorities.
- We have achieved a 46 percentage point increase in underrepresented talent in executive roles (VP+) over the last two fiscal years.
- We have hired underrepresented talent above our representation rates for the fourth consecutive year.
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