Production Director - Overwatch | Irvine, CA

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base pay with incentive)

Health, dental, vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

Blizzard Entertainment is seeking a Production Director for Overwatch in Irvine, CA. You will establish the production vision, lead a large team of producers and managers, and collaborate with senior leadership to shape franchise priorities and long-term development goals.

The role emphasizes operational excellence, data-informed decision making, and cross-functional partnerships across Design, Engineering, Art, Product, QA, Publishing, and live operations.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading large-scale game production teams.
• Experience aligning creative vision with business objectives.
• Strong ability to manage multiple cross-functional workstreams.

Responsibilities

• Establish and drive production vision, strategy, and operating model for Overwatch.
• Lead production leaders, managers, and producers to ensure accountable delivery.
• Partner with senior game leadership to define priorities, resource plans, and long-term goals.
• Drive operational excellence across development teams and ensure alignment with vision and execution.
• Oversee portfolio planning, forecasting, risk mitigation, and dependency management.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decisions

Organizational design

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Team Name: Overwatch Job Title: Production Director - Overwatch | Irvine, CA Requisition ID: R028253

What You Bring to the Table

Establish and drive the production vision, strategy, and operating model for the Overwatch franchise. Lead and develop an organization of production leaders, managers, and producers while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. Partner with senior game leadership to define franchise priorities, strategic initiatives, resource investment plans, and long-term development goals. Drive operational excellence across multiple development teams and initiatives, ensuring alignment between creative vision, business objectives, and execution realities. Influence and guide organizational design decisions to ensure teams are structured effectively to meet evolving development needs. Oversee portfolio-level planning, forecasting, prioritization, dependency management, and risk mitigation across interconnected workstreams. Establish scalable production frameworks, development methodologies, and operational processes that enable sustainable delivery at Blizzard quality. Partner with discipline leaders to develop staffing strategies, succession planning efforts, and organizational growth initiatives. Ensure leadership teams have clear visibility into delivery forecasts, operational risks, staffing considerations, milestone readiness, and business impacts. Champion data-informed decision making through production metrics, delivery insights, forecasting, and organizational health indicators. Foster strong partnerships across Design, Engineering, Art, Product, QA, Publishing, Operations, Analytics, and external partners. Lead organizational change initiatives and help teams successfully navigate shifting priorities, evolving player expectations, and development challenges. Support the successful delivery of live-service content, gameplay features, seasonal initiatives, major releases, and long-term franchise investments. Champion a healthy, inclusive, and sustainable development culture that enables teams to perform at their highest level.

Requirements

Proven track record leading large-scale production organizations supporting AAA game development. Demonstrated success managing managers, directors, senior leaders, and large cross-functional teams. Extensive experience driving organizational strategy, operational excellence, and execution across highly complex development environments. Deep understanding of AAA game development processes, production methodologies, and live-service operating models. Experience partnering with executive leadership to define strategic objectives and execute against multi-year franchise goals. Strong expertise in organizational design, resource planning, capacity management, budgeting, and workforce forecasting. Demonstrated success scaling teams and development organizations through periods of significant growth and change. Experience overseeing multiple concurrent initiatives with significant business, operational, and player impact. Exceptional communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across diverse functions. Strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities with experience leveraging metrics and insights to drive decisions. Proven ability to successfully manage ambiguity while creating clarity and alignment across large organizations. Deep understanding of live-service game development, seasonal content delivery, player engagement strategies, and post-launch operations. Experience supporting development across all phases of production, from incubation and pre‑production through launch and ongoing live operations. Passion for gaming and creating exceptional player experiences. Experience developing games for PC, console, and cross‑platform ecosystems. 15+ years of game development, production, or operational leadership experience, including significant leadership responsibility within AAA or live‑service organizations. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience. Extra Points Experience leading production strategy for a globally recognized live‑service franchise. Experience supporting free‑to‑play business models and large‑scale player ecosystems. Experience managing globally distributed teams across multiple regions. Strong understanding of player engagement, retention, content strategy, and franchise growth initiatives. Experience building and leading organizations through transformational change. Experience partnering closely with executive leadership on franchise planning and investment decisions. Strong understanding of modern development technologies, live‑service operations, and production systems. International business or development experience. Passion for Overwatch and a deep understanding of competitive multiplayer games and player communities.

Extra Points

Experience leading production strategy for a globally recognized live‑service franchise. Experience supporting free‑to‑play business models and large‑scale player ecosystems. Experience managing globally distributed teams across multiple regions. Strong understanding of player engagement, retention, content strategy, and franchise growth initiatives. Experience building and leading organizations through transformational change. Experience partnering closely with executive leadership on franchise planning and investment decisions. Strong understanding of modern development technologies, live‑service operations, and production systems. International business or development experience.

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

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $136,880.00 - $253,260.00 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 pay, 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.