Design Director, Systems & Economy - Unannounced Game

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Job Description:

Blizzard is looking for a Design Director to help us craft Blizzard’s next great game. Our team values creativity, collaboration, and a commitment to quality, and we are searching for experienced developers to add to our team of versatile game makers. 

As a Design Director on Systems and Economy, you will collaborate with other game leadership to define the strategic direction and systems that power the player journey and monetization of this unannounced game. This director will use their skills across gameplay, progression, economy, and product design, so agility will be vital as you actively partner with both internal and external team members. As with every design role at Blizzard, you will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to carry design from concept into final implementation, and be a champion of Blizzard's commitment to delivering world-class quality. We value diverse voices and varied backgrounds and we're looking for individuals to help us build fun, compelling, and inclusive experiences. 

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work required to be on-site and some work-from-home. The home studio will be Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Fully own the systems of player and meta progression, creating an engaging loop of rewarding experiences that drive delivery of key performance indicators.

• Define and drive the strategic direction of the game’s live player experience in collaboration with the product team, leading cross-disciplinary teams to provide flexible and powerful frameworks to meet project requirements.

• Analyze and distill data into actions that maintain a healthy live-game economy that includes interdependent factors such as multiple game modes, currencies and, “battle passes”.

• Develop an understanding of the game’s community to identify common points of friction and opportunities to deliver targeted systems to improve the player experience.

• Predict and mitigate consequences of interacting system designs, articulating the tradeoffs and risks between different potential design options.

• Monitor and uphold the results of the systems designs in a live environment upon release.

• Drive one or more cross-disciplinary working groups with clear goals, holding implementation of sophisticated systems accountable to a core vision with kindness and candor.

• Cultivate the skills of those working with you, constantly finding opportunities to help them improve their craft.

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• 12+ years of professional game design experience, with at least 4 years in a leadership or managerial role within the gaming industry.

• Proven ability to lead, grow, and inspire design teams, championing design craft while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.

Key Attributes

• Deep understanding of “games as service” and the live-service loop, especially through the lens of mobile games.

• Strong project management skills and ability to maintain a strategic vision.

• Being an advocate for simple, intuitive, and future-proof design,  confident in speaking up or giving voice to dissenting opinions constructively.

• Commitment to creating a safe space for collaboration, communication, and creativity across all subject areas and departments.

Extra Points 

Experience

• Experience working with F2P mobile game economies.

• Previous professional experience working in AAA game engines, e.g. Unreal, Unity, etc.

• A background in math, content design, economy design, or live ops.

Key Attributes

• Strong documentation philosophies and strategies to evangelize your designs.

• Familiarity with user experience and user interface design principles.

• Active player of a variety of mobile titles, especially turn-based strategy games.
   

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment.  We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply. 

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.
 

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.