When Chelsey Gobeli was interviewing for a position at SciPlay several years ago, she lacked the right industry experience for the job. But VP of Operations Cameron Lee didn’t care. He saw something in Gobeli that other job applicants lacked: the right skill set.
Lee’s faith in her abilities set her on an exciting career path at the company, where she has taken on challenging projects, refined her leadership skills and received ongoing encouragement along the way.
“Honestly, I don’t think I have enough room to write all the ways I’ve been able to grow professionally,” said Gobeli, now a program manager.
While Gobeli may still be a relative newbie in the mobile social gaming industry, she has found her professional home at SciPlay, tapping into hidden passions and exploring new avenues for growth.
It’s a journey that Parth Kalariya can relate to, having joined the company without prior experience in the sector.
It didn’t take him long to find opportunities to evolve at the company, transitioning between three roles over the past two and a half years. As a product manager, Kalariya currently spends his days diving into the nuances of data-driven decision-making and other core aspects of the role.
There are many reasons why he considers the company a “game-changer” for his professional development, with the biggest one being the support he has received from his managers and other leaders.
“At SciPlay, our leaders are hands-on in helping us grow professionally,” Kalariya said. “They set clear goals and ensure we have everything needed to reach them.”
Anything is in reach at SciPlay, including the ability to pursue pivotal professional growth opportunities now — and in the future. LiveOps Product Manager Brandi Knupp’s experience at the company hasn’t just enabled her to stretch her skills and embrace new ones; it has also unlocked a greater understanding of long-term career goals.
“Continuing to take on more projects and responsibilities will help grow my career,” she said.
For Gobeli, Kalariya and Knupp, this emphasis on autonomous evolution has given way to multifaceted career journeys filled with continuous learning, self-discovery and a universal desire to do more.
About Sciplay
Based in Austin, Texas, with an additional five studios in locations around the world, SciPlay develops and publishes mobile games for players across the globe. The company’s games include Jackpot Party Casino Slots, Quick Hit Slots and Gold Fish Casino. SciPlay is the social gaming division of Light & Wonder, a global cross-platform gaming company.
Growth From the Get-Go
It may be hard for Gobeli to pen all of the ways in which the company has spurred her evolution, yet there’s one truth she can share clearly: “SciPlay has given me amazing opportunities to grow from the very beginning.”
She joined the company in the summer of 2020, when she and others on her team acted like firefighters for the central engineering team, always ready to fix issues that arose. Soon enough, Gobeli began running cross-company projects in a mid-level producer role before being promoted to a program manager earlier this year.
“I continue to work with teams across the company, but my focus now is more around process improvement and implementation, tool administration, policy creation and consolidation,” she shared. “I wear many different hats depending on what the current task is at hand. We make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.”
Gobeli’s experience is not exclusive to her role: SciPlay employees are given autonomy to run tasks from inception to completion, and roles are not siloed. This culture empowers employees to take on career-expanding opportunities, and the company actively encourages these growth opportunities and secondments into different roles and teams.
For example, in 2023, Gobeli worked with the company’s legal team to develop a Jira process to streamline their work. This project not only helped Gobeli strengthen her Jira skills and gain a greater understanding of process development, but it also reminded her of an important lesson she applies to her role every day.
“A big motto I have when developing a process is that it will never be perfect,” she said.
Gobeli strives for progress over perfection at SciPlay. And in her mind, the key to continuous evolution is having the ability to interact with a diverse set of individuals, from game producers to the company’s director of engineering — all of whom are eager to share their expertise.
“What I value most is being able to reach out to my coworkers, regardless of their title and rank, and they’re more than happy to help educate or support me in finding an answer to my question,” Gobeli said.
Evolution is a Team Effort
At SciPlay, evolution is a team effort, which is why the company offers team members the opportunity to share their career journeys and challenges they’ve faced with others at speaker spotlight events. Recently, the company’s SciPlay HERS employee resource group held a “fireside chat” event with SVP of Legal for the Light & Wonder iGaming Division Sue Dawson, who described her experience climbing the ranks in the male-dominated gaming industry, inspiring other women from across the organization to find opportunities to lead. “Through this camaraderie, we’ve been able to teach one another different skills,” Gobeli said.
Wins All Around
For someone who has only worked in the gaming industry for less than three years, Kalariya knows a lot about player behavior and key performance indicators for games.
While his work on Gold Fish Casino Slots helped him master the art of writing efficient SQL queries,his work on Jackpot Party Slots taught him how to fine-tune game mechanics, optimize store operations and refine the game economy.
“Each role and project has not only boosted my technical skills, but has also taught me how to collaborate across teams and drive results,” he said.
Apart from day-to-day work, Kalariya has had many opportunities to leverage growth resources, such as LinkedIn Learning courses and internal workshops, to build up his professional acumen. And in doing so, he has improved his critical-thinking skills while deepening his knowledge of the gaming industry.
Kalariya credits the company’s emphasis on continuous learning, driven by encouragement from leaders, as playing a key role in his own development. Motivated by the opportunity to handle complex challenges, he has gained greater confidence to drive innovation on a broader scale.
“When we’re encouraged to grow our skills and get hands-on experience, it’s not just about personal growth; it’s about making big wins for the company, too,” Kalariya said.
“When we’re encouraged to grow our skills and get hands-on experience, it’s not just about personal growth; it’s about making big wins for the company, too.”
With this motivation to do more, he’s eager to immerse himself more fully in the product management realm. Kalariya shared that his next goal is to boost personalization in the company’s games.
“I’ll be using advanced analytics to tailor our games to each player’s preferences,” Kalariya said. “The goal is to create a super-personalized and enjoyable experience that keeps our players happy and coming back for more.”
A Community Grounded in Support
Although accounting and product management may not have much in common, Knupp has managed to transition easily between these two disciplines.
Why? Because of SciPlay, Knupp said. Since joining the company, she has had the chance to manage the company’s LiveOps game, which involves handling real-time game performance and increasing player engagement.
According to Knupp, her work as a product manager at the company has helped her embrace a strategic mindset and strengthen her understanding of data analysis, market analysis and, most importantly, cross-functional teamwork.
“SciPlay offers a very collaborative culture where we get to work with diverse teams, which broadens our understanding of different aspects of game development and operations,” she said.
While her technical chops have improved, Knupp shared, the skill she’s most proud of sharpening is communication, which has helped her grow in more ways than one.
“With the many presentations I’ve given in this role, I’ve become a lot more confident in my public-speaking abilities, which has positively impacted not only my professional journey, but my personal life as well,” Knupp said.
“I’ve become a lot more confident in my public-speaking abilities, which has positively impacted not only my professional journey, but my personal life as well.”
As she aims to broaden her existing skill set, she’s eager to tackle any task that will help her reach her goals. Yet, Knupp shared, growth at SciPlay isn’t just about projects and managerial support; it also hinges on connecting with peers, which ultimately empowers everyone to evolve.
“The culture is one of the best parts of the company,” she said. “This community we have built and strong network of individuals is extremely beneficial for mentorship and career progression.”
