Lead Publishing Producer

NC America; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

NC America in Irvine, CA is seeking a Lead Publishing Producer to lead publishing execution across pre-launch and live service phases. This role involves overseeing Live Ops, managing cross-functional projects, and ensuring service stability and rapid response to issues.

Ideal candidates will have 7+ years in game production or Live Ops, a strong understanding of the North American game market, and expertise in data-driven decision-making. The position offers a salary range of $130,000 - $170,000 USD.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in game production, publishing, or Live Ops.
• Proven ability to operate in fast-paced live service environments.
• Strong understanding of the North American game market.
• Expertise in KPI analysis and data-driven decision-making.
• Ability to manage complex cross-functional projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead publishing execution across pre-launch and live service phases.
• Oversee Live Ops at strategic and operational levels.
• Drive major updates, events, and lifecycle initiatives.
• Identify risks and implement practical mitigation plans.
• Present KPI trends and actionable recommendations to leadership.

Skills

Game production

Publishing

Live Ops

Technical program management

KPI analysis

Job description

• Lead publishing execution across pre-launch, launch, and live service phases, ensuring alignment with product goals, player needs, and North American market expectations.
• Act as a technically fluent publishing producer who can identify, prioritize, and drive resolution of production, service, and Live Ops issues in close partnership with development, platform, QA, and operations teams.
• Oversee Live Ops at both strategic and operational levels, with a focus on service stability, rapid incident response, issue escalation, content readiness, and continuous optimization of retention, monetization, and engagement.
• Translate business, player, and operational needs into clear production requirements, helping technical and cross-functional teams make timely decisions during live service situations.
• Own production schedules, milestone tracking, issue follow-up, and cross-functional coordination to ensure timely and scope-accurate delivery across publishing initiatives.
• Identify risks early across development, publishing, and live operations, and implement practical mitigation plans to reduce player impact and business disruption.
• Drive major updates, events, hotfixes, and lifecycle initiatives, ensuring seamless execution and alignment with global content roadmaps.
• Improve publishing and Live Ops workflows by establishing scalable processes, reporting structures, escalation paths, and communication frameworks for fast-moving service environments.
• Partner closely with data, marketing, platform, QA, community, and development teams to ensure cohesive execution and high-quality player experiences.
• Present KPI trends, incident learnings, production risks, and actionable recommendations to leadership in a clear and practical manner.
• Manage external partners or development studios as needed, ensuring alignment with product goals, service standards, and delivery expectations.
• Represent NC America’s publishing, Live Ops, and technical service needs within global planning and decision-making discussions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, urgency, and continuous improvement across publishing and Live Ops functions.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in game production, publishing, Live Ops, or technical program/production management, preferably for online or live service titles.
• Proven ability to operate in fast-paced live service environments and respond quickly to production, service, player-facing, or technical issues.
• Strong understanding of the North American game market, player expectations, platform requirements, and live service operating conditions.
• Experience working directly with development, engineering, platform, QA, and operations teams to diagnose issues, define priorities, and drive practical solutions.
• Ability to translate technical issues into clear production plans, escalation steps, business impact summaries, and stakeholder communications.
• Expertise in Live Ops operations, KPI analysis, incident follow-up, and data-driven decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders across development, publishing, marketing, data, QA, and community.
• Experience building or improving production, publishing, and Live Ops processes across one or more titles.
• Strong analytical, organizational, ownership, and communication skills, with the ability to present complex information to leadership in a clear and actionable way.
• Preferred: hands-on experience or strong working knowledge in technical development, backend/service operations, build/release processes, platform certification, tools, or game systems development.

Irvine, CA pay range

$130,000 - $170,000 USD