Studio Design Director, Game Studio

Netflix Global, LLC; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

401(k) retirement plan with employer match

Flexible time off

Stock option program

Mental health support

Job summary

Netflix Global, LLC is seeking a Studio Design Director in Los Angeles to forge the design vision for narrative games. You will manage and mentor a talented team, collaborate with artists and developers, and oversee projects from concept to launch.

The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in game design, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to appeal to a large audience. Comprehensive benefits and flexible time off are included.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of game design experience, including roles as Design Director or Creative Director.
• Exceptional people leadership skills.
• Ability to appeal to millions of players.

Responsibilities

• Hire, manage, and mentor a team of Designers and Game Directors.
• Develop and iterate on the core design vision for narrative games.
• Collaborate with various studio leadership to realize game visions.
• Focus on rapid prototyping to find engaging fun.

Skills

Game design experience

Exceptional leadership skills

Balancing innovation and tradition

Delivering consistent feedback

Job description

Studio Design Director

Role Overview: We’re looking for a strong leader to help us forge Night School’s upcoming design vision, and manage our design team. As Studio Design Director, you will manage, mentor and inspire a team of Designers and Game Directors, drive macro and micro game design vision, and collaborate with world‑class storytellers, artists, and developers to let audiences interact with narrative in brand‑new ways. You will oversee the vision and experiential direction for multiple games from the concept phase, through production, launch, and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Hire, manage, and mentor a team of Designers and Game Directors to do their best work, fulfilling the creative and business objectives of each project.
• Develop, champion, improve and iterate on the core design vision for our studio’s narrative games with your team.
• Oversee and be accountable for your team’s development of core game features from initial concept, through spec and prototype, to full implementation, along with your team.
• Collaborate with studio leadership (Art, Writing, Audio, Editorial, PD) to develop structure, plans, and processes to realize the vision for the game.
• Deeply understand, and then synthesize all the unique advantages and opportunities that will be provided by the Netflix ecosystem and Games platform into a cohesive vision for massively successful games.
• Focus your team on rapid prototyping to quickly iterate to "find the fun", and make bold decisions to move the team forward.
• Collaborate with teammates by providing and receiving creative/team feedback, improving others’ creative contributions, and providing clear creative goals.
• Identify opportunities for improvement of process, and develop plans for targeted outsourcing of Design work not being handled in‑house.

Skills and Experience

• At least 10 years of game design experience, including experience as a Design Director, Creative Director or comparable design leadership role.
• Exceptional people leadership skills.
• Can balance innovation with what is tried and true to develop a game that can appeal to 10’s or 100’s of millions of players around the world.
• Proven track record of delivering clear and consistent creative and managerial feedback that elevates other team members’ work.

About You

• Loves overseeing a team of Designers and Directors, coaching and empowering them to be better in their discipline.
• Not afraid to make tough decisions.
• Passionate about the intersection of player agency and immersive, broadly appealing storytelling.
• Thrives as a member of a cross‑functional multidisciplinary team.
• Communicates with authenticity, intention, and curiosity.
• Gets excited by learning new skills, dashing to pitch in, even if this means flexing beyond this role’s core responsibilities if it can help us win.

Compensation

The range for this role is $210,000 – $320,000. Compensation is based solely on an annual salary; bonuses are not provided.

Benefits

Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including health plans, mental health support, a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match, stock option program, disability programs, health savings and flexible spending accounts, family‑forming benefits, and life and serious injury benefits. Full‑time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off. See more detail about our benefits here.

Equal Opportunity

Netflix is an equal‑opportunity employer and celebrates diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.