Cinematic Director, StarCraft | Irvine, CA

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 119,000 - 221,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays and vacation

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in Irvine, CA is seeking a Cinematic Director to lead the cinematic team for the StarCraft project. You will own creative direction, guide sequences in real-time engines, collaborate with crossfunctional teams, and mentor staff while delivering high-quality storytelling that matches Blizzard's world-class standards.

Hybrid work week with on-site Irvine days. You will personally author, block, iterate, and ensure cinematic pacing, camera language, and performance

Qualifications

• 10+ years in cinematics, game development, or narrative media.
• 2+ years of direct people-management experience.
• Hands-on ownership from previs to in-engine implementation.

Responsibilities

• Lead creative development and execution of cinematic work for a new StarCraft game.
• Guide sequences from concept through animatics to final delivery in real-time engine.
• Author, block, and iterate cinematic sequences in engine (Unreal Sequencer).
• Set high bar for cinematic storytelling: pacing, camera language, performance and emotion.
• Collaborate with audio, music, and voice teams to shape performances.

Skills

Cinematic leadership

People management

Unreal Engine

Maya/MotionBuilder

Storytelling

Communication

Tools

Unreal Engine

Maya/MotionBuilder

Performance capture

Job description

Team Name: StarCraft

Job Title: Cinematic Director, StarCraft | Irvine, CA

Requisition ID: R028113

Job Description

Your Mission Blizzard Entertainment is assembling a team to build the next chapter of StarCraft, returning to a universe forged in interstellar war. This mission offers something new: crafting an original story-driven, open-world shooter while honoring the legacy of one of Blizzard's most beloved games. We are here to reignite this universe alongside you. We are here to make StarCraft, and it's about damn time. We are looking for a Cinematic Director to help craft this new game for Blizzard. As a key member of the development team you will lead a team to execute on the vision, development, and delivery of cinematic work, partnering closely with the game team, production leadership, and the executive producer. As the product owner of the cinematics team, you will lead the team, set priorities, align creative direction, and help deliver compelling storytelling that supports the overall vision of the game. This role offers a hybrid work week, with a mix of work-from-home and on-site days, based out of our Irvine studio.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative development and execution of cinematic work for a new, StarCraft game, ensuring alignment with overall vision, tone, and player experience.
• Guide cinematic work from early concepting and pitching through animatics, iteration, implementation, and final delivery.
• Personally author, block, and iterate cinematic sequences within a real-time engine (e.g., Unreal Sequencer), not solely through delegation.
• Establish and uphold a high bar for cinematic storytelling, including pacing, staging, camera language, performance, emotional clarity, and overall quality.
• Partner with audio, music, and voice-over teams to help shape performances and ensure cinematic moments land with clarity, emotion, and impact.
• Present work clearly and confidently to stakeholders, synthesizing feedback while maintaining creative clarity and momentum.
• Partner closely with the creative director, project leadership, and cross‑functional teams (design, narrative, animation, audio, art, production) to drive alignment and deliver compelling cinematic storytelling.
• Balance the project’s creative ambition with production realities, making thoughtful trade‑offs across scope, timelines, resources, and team capacity.
• Act as the product owner for the cinematics team, setting priorities, aligning work to project goals and milestones, and focusing the team on the highest‑impact opportunities.
• Serve as the people manager for the cinematics team, providing coaching, feedback, performance management, and support for growth and development.
• Help define effective workflows, review rhythms, and team practices that support strong collaboration and predictable execution.
• Collaborate with external partners when needed, providing clear creative direction and feedback to ensure work meets project expectations.

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of professional experience in cinematics, game development, animation, film, television, or other narrative visual media.
• 2+ years of direct people‑management experience, including coaching, feedback, and performance management.
• Proven hands‑on ownership of cinematic sequences from previs through final in‑engine implementation, including camera, staging, pacing, and polish.
• Ability to step in at any stage of production to resolve creative or technical blockers with minimal overhead.
• Deep working knowledge of real‑time cinematic pipelines, including animation integration, lighting, layout, and runtime constraints.
• Practical experience with industry‑standard tools such as Unreal Engine, Maya/MotionBuilder, and performance capture workflows, with the ability to prototype and iterate directly in tool.
• Experience diagnosing and resolving pipeline inefficiencies and bridging gaps between cinematic, animation, and engineering teams.
• Hands‑on experience directing performance capture sessions, with the ability to translate narrative intent into actionable direction for actors and technical teams.
• Strong understanding of capture limitations and downstream implications to ensure performance translates effectively in engine.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt creative direction based on engine constraints, memory budgets, and runtime performance targets while maintaining narrative clarity.
• A player‑coach leadership style, leading through direct contribution and craft credibility rather than review‑only cycles.
• Ability to mentor through active engagement, in‑tool reviews, pairing, and hands‑on problem solving.
• Strong understanding of cinematic storytelling fundamentals, including pacing, composition, staging, camera language, editing, and performance.
• Experience balancing creative possibilities with schedules, dependencies, bandwidth, and production constraints.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to pitch ideas, synthesize feedback, and represent the team clearly in reviews.

What Sets You Apart?

• You are a hands‑on cinematic creator who actively works in engine and DCC tools to bring sequences to life.
• You have personally shipped cinematic content and can clearly articulate your direct contributions.
• You are comfortable owning both creative direction and execution, stepping into the work when needed to maintain quality and momentum.
• You treat technical constraints as part of the creative process, not a downstream consideration.
• You lead through craft excellence and direct engagement, not abstraction.

Bonus Points

• Experience developing or shipping cinematic work for AAA games.
• Experience with multiple in‑engine or real‑time cinematic pipelines.
• Experience working on story‑driven or character‑driven games.
• Experience collaborating with external vendors or outsource partners.
• Familiarity with Blizzard games and a strong appreciation for interactive, narrative‑driven storytelling.

Application Materials

• Resume.
• A strong portfolio or reel demonstrating high‑quality cinematic, narrative, or visually driven storytelling work.

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 video game 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 the qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under‑representable 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 us to apply. We are committed to working with andprovidingreasonable 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 [e-mail]. 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

• 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/. In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $119,280.00 - $220,700.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base paid, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable. Blizzard Entertainment® is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard Entertainment label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well‑respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well‑designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard Entertainment has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception.