Studio Planning Manager

PLAY, GROW, and WIN

To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator.

At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves on constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004.

Virtuosi are a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing AAA games. People who share the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication. 

At Virtuos, we are right at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences every day. So join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.

Who we look for

Virtuos is always working on more and bigger exciting projects. With great projects come great responsibility, and our production team needs an exceptional individual to show the direction. We are seeking a Studio Planning Manager to overview our department and steward our growth into the future.

The Studio Planning Manager is responsible for ensuring the studio has the right people, on the right projects, at the right time, while maintaining strong visibility on capacity, hiring needs, project pipeline, budget control, and overall business performance.

This role sits at the center of studio operations, working closely with the General Manager, Studio Directors, Production, Finance, HR, and Central Planning to support the effective running and growth of the studio.

The ideal candidate is not just a resource coordinator. They are a strategic operator who can connect project demand, studio capacity, hiring plans, budget impact, and business priorities into clear recommendations for leadership.

Key Responsibilities

1. Resource Planning & Allocation

• Manage and maintain visibility of studio resource allocation across current and upcoming projects.
• Track current resource usage across all active projects.
• Identify over-allocation, under-utilization, bench risks, and upcoming capacity gaps.
• Work with directors and production teams to understand staffing needs.
• Recommend resource allocation plans based on project priority, skill fit, availability, and business impact.
• Support conflict resolution when multiple projects require the same key talent.
• Maintain an accurate view of studio capacity by discipline, seniority, skillset, and availability.

2. Hiring & Capacity Forecasting

• Support strategic hiring recommendations based on project pipeline and long-term studio needs.
• Identify future hiring needs based on confirmed projects, projected pipeline, and capability gaps.
• Work with HR and directors to define priority roles and hiring timing.
• Help determine whether hiring should be permanent, contract-based, freelance, or supported by other studios.
• Provide data-backed recommendations on when to hire, delay, or reallocate.
• Monitor hiring risks that may affect delivery, revenue, or utilization.
• Support long-term workforce planning aligned with the studio’s growth strategy.

3. Project Pipeline & Central Planning Coordination

• Work with central planning and leadership to match incoming project opportunities with studio capacity and strategic goals.
• Coordinate with central planning on upcoming project opportunities.
• Assess whether new projects fit the studio’s available capacity, skills, timing, and business priorities.
• Provide visibility on which types of projects the studio can realistically take on.
• Support the GM and directors in preparing capacity or staffing responses for new project discussions.
• Help identify pipeline gaps and recommend what types of projects should be pursued.
• Ensure project intake decisions are informed by resource, budget, and capability realities.

Key Deliverables

• Weekly studio resource allocation overview.
• Monthly capacity and utilization report.
• Hiring forecast by discipline and priority.
• Project pipeline vs. available capacity analysis.
• Budget and utilization risk summary.
• Recommendations for project staffing and project intake.
• Clear escalation of resource conflicts and business risks.
• Studio planning dashboard for GM and directors.

Success Measures

• Improved visibility of studio capacity and utilization.
• Better resource allocation decisions.
• Reduced last-minute staffing conflicts.
• More accurate hiring recommendations.
• Stronger alignment between project pipeline and available talent.

Required Experience

• Experience in resource planning, workforce planning, operations, production planning, consulting operations, IT services, creative production, or project portfolio management.
• Strong understanding of capacity planning, utilization, staffing, and project-based business models.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders across departments.
• Comfortable working with finance, budgets, forecasts, and business performance data.
• Able to turn messy operational information into clear recommendations.
• Strong communication skills and confidence in discussing planning issues with directors and senior leaders.
• Experience in games, VFX, animation, software development, IT services, consulting, or creative production is highly preferred.

Required Skills

• Resource planning and capacity forecasting.
• Stakeholder management.
• Project pipeline planning.
• Data analysis and reporting.
• Strategic thinking.
• Strong Excel / Google Sheets / planning tool capability.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• Problem-solving and decision support.
• Ability to challenge assumptions respectfully.
• Ability to work between creative, production, finance, and business stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate Profile

They should be able to understand what people are currently doing, what projects are coming, what skills are missing, what hiring is needed, what budget risks exist, what capacity is underused, what project opportunities make sense, and what decisions the GM and directors need to make.

They are comfortable with ambiguity but disciplined enough to bring structure. They are not simply an administrator. They are a planning partner to the GM and leadership team.