Design Manager

MadBox; Paris; Hybrid; EUR 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship

Relocation support

Pet-friendly relocation housing

Job summary

Madbox is seeking a Design Manager for Pocket Champs to lead design quality, coach designers, and partner with the Game Director on long-term evolution. This role blends mentorship with strategic design leadership to shape the game’s future.

With relocation support and a strong emphasis on creating a healthy design culture, you will help the team excel, stay market aware, and drive excellence in player experience and monetization.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience designing free-to-play mobile games.
• Leadership experience as a Lead Designer, Design Manager, or similar role.
• Strong understanding of progression systems, economies, retention, and monetization.
• A supportive and inspiring coaching mindset, with great communication skills.
• Passion for building a healthy, ambitious design culture helping teams do their best work.
• Curiosity for the market, new tools, and modern design practices (including AI).

Responsibilities

• Champion design quality and consistency across Pocket Champs
• Coach and support a talented team of designers, helping them grow their skills and confidence
• Strengthen team culture through great collaboration, playtesting habits, and clear design practices
• Bring market awareness and fresh inspiration from the best games in F2P
• Help improve the tools, workflows, and processes that make the design team more effective
• Work closely with the Game Director to support the game’s long-term vision and direction
• Stay connected to execution day-to-day, giving thoughtful feedback on features, balance, and player experience

Job description

Madbox is a fast-growing mobile gaming company with a very unique way of developing games. Everything has been designed so teams can take as much ownership as possible, unleash their creativity, see their games reach millions of players, and have fun on the way. Casual people, Mad ambition!

Pocket Champs is entering an exciting new phase - scaling its systems, deepening its foundations, and continuing to grow the design team behind it.

We're looking for a Design Manager to help lead that journey: someone who can raise the bar on design quality, support and grow designers, and partner closely with the Game Director to shape the long-term evolution of the game.

This is a key role at the heart of the project - part mentor, part craft leader, and part strategic partner.

Your future responsibilities and scope:

• Champion design quality and consistency across Pocket Champs

• Coach and support a talented team of designers, helping them grow their skills and confidence

• Strengthen team culture through great collaboration, playtesting habits, and clear design practices

• Bring market awareness and fresh inspiration from the best games in F2P

• Help improve the tools, workflows, and processes that make the design team more effective

• Work closely with the Game Director to support the game’s long-term vision and direction

• Stay connected to execution day-to-day, giving thoughtful feedback on features, balance, and player experience

The profile we are looking for:

• 7+ years of experience designing free-to-play mobile games

• Leadership experience as a Lead Designer, Design Manager, or similar role

• Strong understanding of progression systems, economies, retention, and monetization

• A supportive and inspiring coaching mindset, with great communication skills

• Passion for building a healthy, ambitious design culture helping teams do their best work

• Curiosity for the market, new tools, and modern design practices (including AI)

Nice to have:

• Experience on long-running live games or hybrid-casual hits

• Strong analytical instincts and comfort using data in design decisions

• Interest in evolving casual games toward deeper midcore systems

About relocation

Moving comes with a lot to think about, so we'll take care of the tricky parts. With visa sponsorship, relocation support (yes, pets included!), and housing hunting, our goal is simple: help you land smoothly, feel at home quickly, and enjoy life in your new city!

Compensation transparency

The salary range for this role is €80,000-€100,000 gross/year. Final compensation is based on the candidate's experience and demonstrated skill level.

How do we hire at Madbox?

• Meet the recruiter

• Meet the direct manager

• Home Assignment

• Meet the team

• Meet with Leadership

Diversity & Inclusion

At Madbox, different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of thinking aren't just welcome; they're part of what makes the team good. We hire on talent and fit with our values, regardless of who you are or where you come from.

AI in our process

Parts of our hiring process may get a hand from AI - things like summarizing responses, or flagging inconsistencies, and taking notes during interviews to focus on what matters the most: the candidates. Everything is there to help our recruiters, not to decide anything. Every final call on hiring is made by a human. For full details on how your data's handled, you can check our privacy policy.