Intermediate Producer / Project Manager

Snowed In Studios is a video game development studio based in Ottawa, Canada. As part of Keywords Studios’ Create service line consisting of engineering, design and art, we collaborate with partners across the industry to support a wide range of games. From well-known franchises to innovative new ideas, our focus is on building strong relationships, doing thoughtful work, and contributing meaningfully to every project we’re part of.

Employee satisfaction is at the top of our priority list. We understand that you work your best when you’re happy. This is why we have regularly been recognized as one of the Top 10 Places to Work in Ottawa and one of the Best Places to Work in Canada by gamesindustry.biz! We are proud to have a high employee retention rate of over 97%.

We are currently on the lookout for an Intermediate Producer to join our growing team. This is a pivotal project management, people care, and client relationship role on a range of game development projects – from supporting high-profile AAA, to complex technical and creative projects where you assemble everything and everyone needed to create something new.

The only thing we manage better than game projects is people.

• Lead software developers, designers, artists, animators and testers to work in a co-development fashion with client team members, by guiding the delivery of video games.
• Proactively manage and reduce project risks throughout production, using project management methodologies.
• Create roadmaps and task breakdowns while keeping client stakeholders updated on status and risks.

• Forecast project costs, maintain financials and coordinate invoicing.
• Coach, mentor and grow your team by holding regular 1-on-1 meetings and conducting their annual performance reviews.
• Regularly evaluate priorities, staffing and resources, and thoughtfully adjust business strategies to react to changing requirements.
• Provide visibility internally and externally; deliver presentations and reviews with company leadership, internal teams and to clients.
• Use creative problem solving skills to unblock the team and navigate through ambiguity. 
• Playtest the game. Be the voice of players, and provide and disseminate feedback with different internal teams.
• Seek to understand both client and team realities, to find consensus. Be curious to understand the tasks your team needs to implement, in order to make decisions to align delivery with client goals.
• Maintain strong overall ownership of project outcomes, and proactively identify areas for improvement.
• Adapt by being flexible and effective in new situations within a highly dynamic environment.
• Contribute to studio-wide process improvements beyond your own projects.
• Travel to external client offices, for on-site relationship building.

• Client Care:
• 4+ years of leadership experience in gaming production, game project management, or consumer-facing software application development for external stakeholders.
• Experienced with building long-term, trust-based client relationships.
• Worked closely with clients to deliver a product according to requirements under contract constraints for the project.
• Drove expectation management, ensuring clients have an accurate understanding of project realities.
• Balanced client goals with team capacity and studio health.
• Comfortable driving conversations around project adjustments, risks, and new opportunities in a diplomatic, calm and solutions-focused manner.
• Project Management:
• 4+ years of project management experience, including various development methodologies: Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban, etc.
• Experience with initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing software development projects, from pitch to certification.
• Has been the key leader accountable for the delivery of at least one project with a team of 5+ members and budget of $200K+ CAD.
• Experience working autonomously to plan, estimate, schedule, and track work across development, design, art and test disciplines.
• Experience using multiple project management and product management tools for task tracking and documentation: Jira, Confluence, ADO, Excel, Miro, Figma, Trello, etc.
• Has an understanding of cross-discipline workflows and pipelines (art, engineering, design, QA, animation, etc.).
• Has managed scope, resource allocations, financials and has written contracts.
• Built and executed processes that keep projects on track, including risk management and dependency tracking.
• Has developed recovery strategies when projects fall behind or change direction.
• People Care:
• 4+ years experience supporting and growing medium-sized teams of 5 or more people with a high level of autonomy.
• Experienced with providing mentorship, guidance, and constructive feedback to help team members with career growth in a variety of disciplines.
• Has taken a ‘people first’ mentality when making decisions to support their team's work-life balance.
• Fosters open communication, clarity, and cross-discipline collaboration.
• Identified team needs early and took proactive steps to resolve interpersonal issues or performance gaps, coming from a place of emotional intelligence and compassion. 
• Helped create a positive team culture by managing morale, motivating others, and supporting healthy work habits.
• Experienced in creating a psychologically safe space for new ideas.

• Game publishing resulting in a shipped title.
• Familiarity with multiple game engines, platforms, and genres.
• Has had direct reports and experience leading their annual performance evaluations.
• Comfortable contributing to pitches and contract discussions.
• Experience managing distributed development with multiple cultures in different timezones.
• Education or background in an IT, interactive media, digital art, software testing, game design or software development field.

This is a remote/hybrid position, however it's currently open to candidates residing in the following Canadian provinces only: Ontario. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in Canada and reside in the eligible province(s) listed above.

The successful hire is expected to visit your team in Ottawa at least once annually for relationship building.

Salary Range: $70,000 to $85,000* CAD (*varies based on experience and skillset)

Primary working language: English

• Variety of project types and clients ranging from indie to AAA, in a no-crunch modern studio with a relaxed atmosphere and a variety of work
• Comprehensive benefits package that covers Dental Care, Health Care (including out of country coverage), Vision Care, Long Term Disability, Physio, Massage etc.
• Generous leave policies including 4 weeks paid vacation (plus 1 week over the Holiday Season), unlimited sick leave and 2 paid personal days and 1 paid volunteer day. We also provide parental leave top-up and an Employee and Family Assistance Plan that offer 24/7 free and confidential help with your physical and mental health.
• RRSP Matching.
• A dynamic and supportive team environment with a range of experience and an amazing culture – we have board game nights, movie, nights, arcade tournaments, and more to help blow off steam and hang out together.
• The opportunity to build or expand your career the way you want to, in a smaller studio connected to a global studio family.
• A way-cool yet way cozy hoodie!

Role Information: EN

Studio: Snowed In

Location: Americas, Canada

Area of Work: Game Development

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Working Pattern: Remote, Hybrid

Keywords Studios is dedicated to following a well-established Equal Opportunities Policy. We endeavor to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

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