Welcome to Maxis, home to tinkerers, craftspeople, & storytellers. Our drive is to inspire everyone to make a better world through creative play. As the developer of The Sims, we create games and experiences for millions of people around the world and are always looking for new ways to inspire our players. Maxis is a place where you can do what you love and help others grow while doing it; a place where your unique voice can be heard and seen. We put creativity and inclusivity at the core of our work and don't settle for seeing the world only as it is, but strive to build a world as it could be.
Location (hybrid): Redwood City, Vancouver.
This role will report to the Executive Producer.
Responsibilities
Ability to successfully champion game design direction on the project on an ongoing basis, inspiring internal and external teams through progressive and innovative game design
Collaborate with leadership to define design direction and craft clear design briefs, documentation, mockups, and presentations. Support the product vision as set by the Creative and Product Director.
Possess a deep understanding of new trends driving player expectations including the latest in life simulation, adventure games, cozy games, and the gaming industry in general. You have sensitivity to mass-market appeal and the ability to improve accordingly.
Partner with consumer insights, brand, data analytics, and commercial to break down and understand underlying player motivations while driving solution to problems
Proactively communicate progress, project opportunities and risks, and resolution of problems with the ability to set guidelines for internal and external partners and stakeholders
Work directly with design teams, production, quality assurance, artists, and engineering to bring feasibility and appropriate scoping to your design briefs
Interface daily with development teams including attendings scrum meetings, milestone planning, triage, status meetings, etc
Ensure a high quality product is developed for our players and community; be accountable for quality targets as well as the results.
Establish design-related engagement processes: Ensure all workflows are clearly defined and processes are well documented in partnership with production
Motivate and inspire development team to meet goals and deliverables, while maintaining positive team morale and collaborative team behavior
Welcome feedback and criticism and enjoy working in a cross-functional, iterative environment
Strong ability to align and drive deliverables
Participate in regular playtests and coordinate play sessions with development team members
Must be willing and able to travel within Asia regularly (approximately once every other month, and ability to stay for 1-2 weeks if needed for project)
Qualifications
3+ years of experience in game design and leading feature design or game teams and defining game design
Experience designing, launching, monitoring, and evolving a live service title
Broad and in-depth knowledge of game design including ability to develop core game pillars, core game loops, detailed feature design and narrative design
Experience inspiring an organization or team through influence and passion despite reporting lines
Ability to break down complex problems into consumable and actional pieces for implementation
Ability to conceptualize, create, and implement game concepts using tools to communicate your ideas
Excellent knowledge of production life cycle, processes, and project planning.
Experience in a Scrum / Agile and waterfall software development environment.
Experience with Jira/Jaas, Perforce, and other project management tools
Shipped at least 1 AAA titles in large (100+ person) game teams on PC/Mac/Console/Mobile platforms, ideally on multiple platforms.
Shipped at least 1 Live Service game and have experience with incident management, change management and release planning
Must be willing to work flexible/later hours with partners in different time zones on a regular basis
Proven success speaking publicly with confidence
Bonus
Partial or full fluency in Japanese
Experience working with simulation games
Experience working with outsourcing and external partners
Love of Sims games
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The base salary ranges listed below are for the defined geographic market pay zones in these locations. If you reside outside of these locations, a recruiter will advise on the range and benefits for your specific location.
EA has listed the base salary ranges it in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in the locations listed, as of the time of this posting. Pay offered will be determined based on numerous relevant business and candidate factors including, for example, education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, and business or organizational needs.
BASE SALARY RANGES
California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento): º $122,400 - $176,300 USD Annually
British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria): º $107,600 - $147,100 CAN Annually
Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity. For British Columbia, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, paid top-up to EI/QPIP benefits up to 100% of base salary when you welcome a new child (12 weeks for maternity, and 4 weeks for parental/adoption leave), extended health/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.
About Electronic Arts
Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.
We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.