Niantic LA is seeking a Creative Director to help lead the studio in its next project that encourages people to explore the world, together. In this role you’ll hold the vision for a brand new game, working closely with the studio leadership team to bring it to life.
You will use your expertise to develop and champion a world-class mobile AR game experience. Alongside the Senior Producer, you will bring your experience leading teams from Concept through to Production and Live Operations to the LA Studio to drive the project forward. You’ll also be responsible for presenting the vision and strategy of the game to senior partners at Niantic. As a hardworking, inspiring and inclusive leader, you will help to grow and establish the Niantic LA Games Studio.
Responsibilities
- Define, communicate and be accountable for the creative vision of the project including the core loop, F2P mechanics, social features and IP development.
- Ensure the project backlog is well-defined and understood.
- Work with the design team to create robust design documentation.
- Foster positive relationships with other senior leaders of the studio and within Niantic to deliver on the vision.
- Represent the project and team to senior leaders, championing the team's needs and requirements.
- Distill the business’s strategic and commercial goals for the team, ensuring they are reflected in product and organizational decisions.
- Take the lead on producing pitch materials for internal presentations.
- Collaborate and align with Marketing to build commercial analysis, shape forecasts and drive successful marketing and UA campaigns.
- Define and drive design standards for the team.
- Provide strong leadership and career mentorship to support the creative goals and ambitions of the design team members.
Qualifications
- An experienced Creative Director or Design Director with a proven track record in creating and maintaining design direction, and bringing it to fruition.
- Strong understanding of free-to-play systems and economy design, validated by commercially successful products.
- Free-to-Play mobile games experience in all production phases from Concept to Live Operations, having shipped at least one title as Creative Director or Lead Game Designer.
- Demonstrated experience in building, leading and mentoring teams.
- Adept at providing the support and space for more junior team members to work with appropriate autonomy while creating a coherent design that aligns with your vision.
- Strong at providing feedback that empowers team members to produce their best work.
- Experience communicating a game vision to teams and partners.
- Skilled at developing productive relationships with peers and senior leaders, enabling you to work through complex situations to drive projects forward.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication ability, with an emphasis on clearly explaining reasoning behind decisions.
Plus If…
- You have experience working on emerging hardware, augmented reality or location-based products.
- You are excited to work with novel game mechanics and pioneering technology.
Join the Niantic team!
Niantic is the world’s leading AR technology company, sparking creative and engaging journeys in the real world. Our products inspire outdoor exploration, exercise, and meaningful social interaction.
Originally formed at Google in 2011, we became an independent company in 2015 with a strong group of investors including Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Alsop Louie Partners. Our current consumer titles include pioneering global-control game Ingress, record-breaking AR game Pokémon GO, and Pikmin Bloom. In November 2021, we launched our developer platform, Lightship, enabling creators to build immersive AR experiences around the globe.
Niantic is an Equal Opportunity employer. We believe that cultivating a workplace where our people are supported and included is essential to creating great products our community will love. Our mission emphasizes seeking and hiring diverse voices, including those who are traditionally underrepresented in the technology industry, and we consider this to be one of the most important values we hold close.
We're a hard-working, fun, and exciting group who value intellectual curiosity and a passion for problem-solving! We have growing offices located in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Bellevue, Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo, Hamburg, and Zurich.