Development Director

Electronic Arts; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 122,300 - 170,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

3 weeks vacation

10 days sick leave

Paid parental leave

Extended health/dental/vision coverage

Retirement plan

Job summary

Electronic Arts is seeking a Development Director for the Live Service Systems team. The role focuses on leading project efforts, managing direct reports, and ensuring quality delivery of systems and features.

With a requirement for 5+ years in project management within game development, this position offers a competitive salary of CAD $122,300 - $170,700 and a holistic benefits package including vacation, extended health coverage, and more.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management or team leadership in software development.
• 2+ years of experience managing direct reports.
• Understanding of game development and associated development risks.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team members to establish and assign tasks.
• Manage direct reports and conduct performance reviews.
• Track team progress and provide status updates.

Skills

Project management

Team leadership

Agile methodologies

Cross-discipline collaboration

Effective communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant fields

Job description

Reporting Structure

You will be reporting to the Lead Development Director.

Role Overview

As a Development Director for the Live Service Systems team at Maxis, you will partner with producers, craft directors and peers to ensure the project is delivered to spec, on time, to quality, and within budget. Development Directors will also manage members of the development team, helping them grow their careers and skills within the studio.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team members to establish and assign tasks across Engineering, Design, and Experience Design.
• Partner with Producers to navigate priority changes while managing scope and quality to deliver on commitments.
• Track team progress and provide regular status reporting and capacity plan updates.
• Identify risks and lead mitigation across assigned features and systems.
• Determine resource needs to meet task and project requirements.
• Lead Agile ceremonies including stand‑ups and sprint planning.
• Manage direct reports in client and gameplay engineering – guide individual development plans, and conduct regular one‑on‑ones and performance reviews.
• Provide line management to employees across disciplines within the project team.
• Coordinate dependencies with internal teams and external partners.
• Resolve cross‑discipline issues by partnering with product owners, tech leads, and craft leads.
• Define workflows and ensure processes are documented and understood.
• Propose creative solutions to team issues across processes, strategy, and communication.
• Develop working relationships with the immediate team and those outside of the immediate team that have an effect on the successful completion of the project.
• Manage hiring for your team; work with craft directors, subject‑matter experts, and the recruiting team to define roles and responsibilities, interview candidates, and deliver equitable offers.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5+ years of project management or team leadership experience in a software development environment.
• 2+ years of applied experience managing direct reports, driving personal career development and work performance.
• 2+ years of experience managing the workload for engineers.
• Bachelor's degree in relevant fields or equivalent professional experience.
• Understanding of game development, interdisciplinary dependencies, and associated development risks.
• Effective in a collaborative cross‑discipline team environment.
• Experience with different project management methodologies, such as Waterfall and Agile.
• Candidates with engineering management and video game live service experience will be prioritized.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay ranges (North America, British Columbia): $122,300 - $170,700 CAD.

Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. For Canada, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top‑up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full‑time employees, and potential bonus and equity.

We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.