Principal Product Economist - Poker

Zynga is looking for a strategic, analytical, and hands-on Principal Product Economist with experience in mobile games to join the world’s biggest social poker game! As an economy designer, you will oversee, implement and tune the in-game economy while optimizing user experience. You will utilize methodologies from economics, behavioral psychology, and business intelligence to strategically design and maintain a healthy free-to-play mobile game economy. The economy systems you will build and manage are core to game progression, reward payouts, and overall game economy balance.
You will lead the conceptualization, modeling, and continuous optimization of the game’s economy - driving player engagement, retention, and monetization through data-informed design and smart experimentation.

What You'll Do:

• Own the live operations economy and collaborate closely with product managers and analysts to define and execute its strategic direction. Act as the point of contact and subject-matter expert on all live operations economic aspects.
• Design and implement essential features that create a fun player experience, further the strategic vision of the product, and improve retention, acquisition, and monetization.
• Model, simulate, and tune complex economy systems including multiple currencies, sinks, faucets, and progression loops.
• Use A/B testing and other analytical methods to validate hypotheses, measure outcomes, and optimize performance.
• Proactively identify and improve underperforming systems, leveraging data-driven insights to enhance player experience and revenue.
• Develop predictive models and simulations to anticipate player behavior and maintain a stable, scalable economy.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure economic systems integrate seamlessly with design, live ops, and monetization initiatives.
• Communicate economic insights and design rationales effectively to stakeholders and leadership.
• Stay up to date with market trends and perform proactive analyses of economy tuning in relevant competitive products.

What You Bring:

• 5+ years of experience working on digital games, at least 3+ years focused on economy design.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong presentation abilities, and the capacity to influence and collaborate across all levels of the organization.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to balance multiple projects in parallel while working in a collaborative, agile environment with aggressive deadlines and shifting priorities.
• Autodidactic, with the ability to quickly learn new systems and tools, interpret technical specifications, understand feature configurations, and independently explore how game systems and economic models operate.
• Skilled at modeling and simulating planned changes, anticipating downstream effects, and adjusting prior to release.
• Analytical, detail-oriented, and capable of providing actionable solutions at every stage of the process.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and SQL. Python experience is a plus.
• Passion for mobile and/or casino games.

What we offer:

Zynga offers a world-class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $133,000 to $183,000 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. 

The pay range for this position in Toronto at the start of employment is expected to be between $114,000 to $160,000 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. 

The pay range for this position in Illinois at the start of employment is expected to be between $120K to $170K per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. 

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.  The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.