The Role
The Lead Designer will oversee the development of a new puzzle game, ensuring quality and market performance while mentoring a design team.
Summary Generated by Built In
As a leading mobile games developer, Jam City is looking to “level up” our talent. We’re searching for innovators who consider themselves dynamic, collaborative, and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
PERKS & 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
Jam City is looking for an experienced Lead Designer to spearhead the development of an innovative new puzzle title. The ideal candidate is a seasoned professional who combines proven creative talent with strong leadership skills and a deep understanding of the mobile F2P market. As the Lead Puzzle Designer, you will be accountable for the overall quality, creative integrity, and market performance of titles within our puzzle division.
*Note: If you are not local to the greater San Diego Area, we are open to this role sitting remotely for the right candidate.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- 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.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- 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
NICE TO HAVE:
- Direct, hands-on experience working with major global entertainment IPs and navigating the requirements of external partnership is a critical requirement for this position.
In compliance with local law, we are disclosing the compensation for this role. The range listed is just one component of Jam City's total compensation package for employees, which may also include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, certifications, location, business needs, or market demands. This range is based on a full-time position. This range may be modified in the future. In addition, Jam City provides a variety of benefits to employees, including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, parental leave, paid time off, a 401(k) plan, life, disability, and accident insurance. Pay Range: $121,500 — $250,000 salary per year.
OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
We believe in creating games that unite people across the world and that showcase our commitment to providing an environment that is both inclusive and diverse for our players and employees. We strive to create a workforce that is reflective of our global player community as we know that we are stronger and better when we play together. To help promote an inclusive culture, we celebrate the visible and invisible diversity of our Jam Citizens through initiatives including Employee Resource Groups, cultural events, trainings, speaker series, and more.
Jam City is an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, marital, or domestic partnerships status, disability, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expressions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws. Our management is committed to following this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruiting, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.
ABOUT JAM CITY
Jam City is an award-winning mobile entertainment studio providing unique and deeply engaging games that appeal to a broad, global audience.
Led by CEO Josh Yguado, former 20th Century Fox executive, Jam City is the creative powerhouse behind some of the highest-grossing and most enduring mobile games. Jam City’s global franchise Cookie Jam has generated more than half a billion dollars, and Panda Pop has more than 120 million downloads to date.
The company also is the go-to studio for Hollywood, having developed immersive, narrative-rich mobile games around iconic entertainment brands. The company’s popular RPG game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was the #1 game in more than 40 countries at its launch in April 2018.
Jam City has nine studios located in Los Angeles (HQ), Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Burbank, Cedar Falls, San Diego, San Francisco, and Toronto.
Top Skills
Game Design
Game Mechanics
Mobile Games
Player Experience
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The Company
What We Do
Jam City is an award-winning entertainment company providing unique and deeply engaging mobile games that are played by tens of millions of people across the globe.
Led by CEO Chris DeWolfe, former MySpace co-founder and CEO, and COO Josh Yguado, former 20th Century Fox executive, Jam City is the creative powerhouse behind some of the highest-grossing and most enduring mobile games.
Jam City’s global franchise Cookie Jam has generated more than half a billion dollars, and Panda Pop has more than 120 million downloads to date. The company also is the go-to studio for Hollywood, having developed immersive, narrative-rich mobile games around iconic entertainment brands. The company’s popular RPG game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was the #1 game in more than 40 countries at its launch in April 2018. Jam City has nine studios located in Los Angeles (HQ), Berlin, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Burbank, Cedar Falls, San Diego, San Francisco, and Toronto.
The Jam City team is known for its creative excellence and technological innovation in key areas including storytelling, data science and audience insights.
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