At Rovio Montreal we are fascinated and inspired by the many novel ways people play games. News tools and technologies are combining in innovative ways that are pushing the boundaries of what it means to be ‘a gamer’ and riding this wave of innovation is at the core of our mandate. We continue to build our hands-on team of artists, technologists, designers and innovators inside a culture of trust, passion, innovation and aspire towards transparency and candor, empowering leadership and a true work/life balance.

We are committed to the continual improvement of our projects, tools, communication, and ourselves, while keeping the atmosphere friendly, inclusive, respectful and supportive. We make sure that we learn both from our mistakes and our success as we grow in number and in experience.

And, of course, we plan to Change the World for the better with the groundbreaking game we build.

This is a key leadership role in the studio with the possibility to influence the whole of Rovio. We think you will love working with us if you believe deeply in the following:

A great team is so much more than the sum of its parts - we want to create a huge, industry-defining experience (who doesn’t?) but don’t want to lose the human touch to do so. We will stay a reasonably-sized, tight knit team where you always know who to talk to to get something done.

Great games are made by passionate Creators - to make great products we all need to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. You are happiest when shortly after a brainstorming meeting you are working hands on, testing ideas and theories, inspiring through action.

Inspiration is critical but the best ideas can be validated early - at Rovio we Love Data and pour over it constantly to make the best games possible but marry this ‘left brained thinking’ with creativity, inspiration and a never-ending search for the next great innovative idea.

Clear, inspiring communication has never been more important - In a hybrid-work future with teams working together physically and distributed in equal measure, the need for clarity building communication is paramount. Your words matter and you use them to inspire.

Great games bring us together - the opportunities to meet, learn, chat and grow inside gaming worlds mean they are the ultimate Social Network and can be a force for Good as well as Fun for the players of tomorrow.

Vision and Ambition are wasted without Execution - as the Game Design Director you will ultimately ensure that the high level vision of the project is translated into deep, rich system designs that are ready to be implemented and tested working directly with the designers, programmers and artists to ensure that what we’re building is The Best.

Some of the aptitudes, skills and experience we will be looking for:

You’ve built games with User Generated Content (UGC) at their core. Tools and systems that inspire creativity from the community are your jam.
Experience recruiting, coaching and managing a high performing team of game designers.
Experience working with a team of senior leaders, directors and stakeholders to align on project vision.
Solid experience in creating and leading game concepts.
Very strong core game and system design skills.
Experience building prototypes to test ideas. Paper is good. Code is better.
Experience building and shipping products with Unreal.
Excellent understanding of what makes for great UX. You Deconstruct for fun.
Previous commercial success on F2P Games on mobile and/or PC consoles. Experience in the following genre is a plus: Life simulation game, Dress up & Fashion games, Home design games, Sandbox...
You have the passion, methods and skills to drive the game design from a high level concept to the nitty gritty details.
A breadth and depth of entertainment interests outside of games.
You follow the latest trends in technologies across multiple forms of entertainment.
We love solving very hard problems. Hope you do too.

Recruitment process

First meeting: You will meet the hiring manager. Before diving deeper into your skills, we want to know who you are and what motivates you. This is also an opportunity for you to learn more about Rovio and the specifics of the role.
Second round: You will meet with the other Rovio Montreal Directors to see how you would fit with our working culture.
Third Round: You will meet with another Design Director at Rovio. Our aim is to get a clear overview of your skills, your ambitions and where we can help you develop.
Final Round: Interview with HR to assess global team fit and leadership skills.