Lead Designer, Economy & Systems

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Pull up a chair and join us by the hearth! Blizzard is seeking an experienced Lead Economy & Systems Designer to join the Hearthstone team. We’re looking for a creative, collaborative, and quality-driven design lead to help shape the systems and economy design for future Hearthstone releases.

As a Design Lead focused on economy and systems, you will collaborate with other members of Hearthstone leadership to define the strategic direction of the systems that drive the player experience and monetization of upcoming releases. You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to carry designs 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 for this role is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Analyze data and translate insights into actionable improvements, balancing a complex live-game economy across multiple game modes, currencies, and battle passes.

• Define and guide the strategic direction of the game’s live player experience, working closely with the product team to develop scalable and flexible systems.

• Own the design of player and meta progression systems, ensuring an engaging loop of rewarding experiences that support key performance indicators.

• Identify friction points in the player experience and design systems that improve engagement and retention.

• Anticipate and mitigate the tradeoffs and risks of interconnected systems, ensuring thoughtful and future-proof designs.

• Mentor and support the growth of fellow designers, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

• Lead cross-disciplinary working groups, aligning teams on vision and execution with clarity, kindness, and candor.

Minimum Requirements

Experience

• 10+ years of professional game design experience, including 5+ years in a senior systems design or player experience role on a live service game.

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and inspire design teams while collaborating effectively across disciplines.

Key Attributes

• A champion of intuitive, scalable, and future-proof designs, with the ability to constructively challenge ideas when necessary.

• Deep understanding of live-service game design and the games-as-a-service model, particularly in mobile games and digital CCGs.

• Strong strategic vision and project management skills.

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

• A collaborative mindset, fostering clear communication, creativity, and inclusivity across all teams.

Extra Points 

Experience

• Experience designing F2P mobile game economies.

• Familiarity with AAA game engines (e.g., Unreal, Unity).

• Background in math, content design, economy design, or live operations.

Key Attributes

• Strong documentation skills for communicating and evangelizing design decisions.

• Knowledge of UX/UI design principles as they apply to game economy and progression systems.

• Active player of CCGs and mobile games, including Hearthstone, with an understanding of current trends and best practices.
   

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/.