Lead Designer
Jam City
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: Carlsbad • California • 🇺🇸 United States
Visit company websiteSalary
💰 $121,500 - $250,000 per year
Job Level
Senior
About the role
- Serve as the primary "vision keeper" for a new puzzle title, defining and championing a cohesive and compelling player experience from concept to live operations.
- Consistently advocate for the player's needs to ensure all designs are intuitive, rewarding, and deeply engaging, in line with our core value of "Love The Player, Love The Game."
- Expertly translate the core essence of world-renowned IPs into innovative puzzle mechanics, and authentic visual or narrative themes.
- Architect and balance core game loops, innovative puzzle mechanics, and long-term progression systems designed to engage a massive F2P audience for years.
- Collaborate with the technical team to develop world class editors and tools for rapid puzzle level creation and tuning.
- Design and tune in-game economies, monetization features, and live-ops events with a player-centric approach.
- Partner closely with product managers and data analysts to define KPIs, analyze player data, and leverage insights to iterate on and optimize game features for engagement and retention.
- Develop and maintain comprehensive game design documentation, including detailed design briefs, system flowcharts, and feature specifications to ensure clarity and alignment.
- Guide, inspire, and mentor a talented team of game designers, actively fostering their career growth and skill development.
- Cultivate a positive, collaborative, and feedback-rich team dynamic that encourages creative expression and a strong sense of shared ownership.
- Delegate day-to-day design tasks effectively, assigning clear ownership of game systems and features to empower team members and promote accountability.
- Deliver clear, constructive, and actionable feedback on all design work to ensure alignment with the project's creative pillars and Jam City's high bar for quality.
- Remain at the forefront of industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging best practices within the casual puzzle genre and the broader F2P mobile market.
- Partner with production to align on project roadmaps, prioritize the feature backlog, and ensure project deadlines are met without compromising creative integrity or quality.
Requirements
- A minimum of 8 years of professional game design experience, with at least 4 years focused specifically on the mobile Free-to-Play (F2P) market.
- Demonstrable experience in a lead, principal, or equivalent senior design role, with a portfolio that includes multiple shipped, successful, and high-quality casual or puzzle titles for mobile platforms.
- A proven track record of successfully managing, mentoring, and developing a team of game designers
- Direct, hands-on experience working with major global entertainment IPs and navigating the requirements of external partnership is a critical requirement for this position.
Benefits
- Unlimited Vacation
- Paid Sick Days
- Recharge Days & Holidays
- 100% Employee Covered Medical, Dental, Vision Plan Base Plan
- Life Insurance
- 401k
- Flexible Spending Accounts & More
- Happy Hours
- Company Events
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard skills
game designpuzzle mechanicsgame loopsin-game economiesmonetization featureslive-ops eventsgame design documentationfeature specificationsdata analysisKPI definition
Soft skills
team leadershipmentoringcollaborationcreative expressionfeedback deliveryproject managementaccountabilityplayer advocacycareer developmentteam dynamics