Lead Designer

As a leading mobile games developer, Jam City is looking to “level up” our talent. We’re searching for innovators who consider themselves dynamic, collaborative, and thrive in a fast-paced environment.

• Unlimited Vacation, Paid Sick Days, Recharge Days & Holidays
• 100% Employee Covered Medical, Dental, Vision Plan Base Plan
• Life Insurance, 401k, Flexible Spending Accounts & More
• Happy Hours
• Company Events

• Serve as the primary "vision keeper" for a new puzzle title, defining and championing a cohesive and compelling player experience from concept to live operations.
• Consistently advocate for the player's needs to ensure all designs are intuitive, rewarding, and deeply engaging, in line with our core value of "Love The Player, Love The Game."
• Expertly translate the core essence of world-renowned IPs into innovative puzzle mechanics, and authentic visual or narrative themes.
• Architect and balance core game loops, innovative puzzle mechanics, and long-term progression systems designed to engage a massive F2P audience for years.
• Collaborate with the technical team to develop world class editors and tools for rapid puzzle level creation and tuning.
• Design and tune in-game economies, monetization features, and live-ops events with a player-centric approach.
• Partner closely with product managers and data analysts to define KPIs, analyze player data, and leverage insights to iterate on and optimize game features for engagement and retention.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive game design documentation, including detailed design briefs, system flowcharts, and feature specifications to ensure clarity and alignment.
• Guide, inspire, and mentor a talented team of game designers, actively fostering their career growth and skill development.
• Cultivate a positive, collaborative, and feedback-rich team dynamic that encourages creative expression and a strong sense of shared ownership.
• Delegate day-to-day design tasks effectively, assigning clear ownership of game systems and features to empower team members and promote accountability.
• Deliver clear, constructive, and actionable feedback on all design work to ensure alignment with the project's creative pillars and Jam City's high bar for quality.
• Remain at the forefront of industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging best practices within the casual puzzle genre and the broader F2P mobile market.
• Partner with production to align on project roadmaps, prioritize the feature backlog, and ensure project deadlines are met without compromising creative integrity or quality.

• A minimum of 8 years of professional game design experience, with at least 4 years focused specifically on the mobile Free-to-Play (F2P) market.
• Demonstrable experience in a lead, principal, or equivalent senior design role, with a portfolio that includes multiple shipped, successful, and high-quality casual or puzzle titles for mobile platforms.
• A proven track record of successfully managing, mentoring, and developing a team of game designers.
• Willingness to work in the Greater San Diego Area or remotely for the right candidate.

• Direct, hands-on experience working with major global entertainment IPs and navigating the requirements of external partnership.

Greater San Diego Area, remote possible for the right candidate.

Pay Range: $121,500 — $150,000 salary per year. This figure is part of the total compensation package which may also include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives, and program-specific awards. Additional benefits include medical, dental, vision, parental leave, paid time off, a 401(k) plan, life, disability, and accident insurance.

Jam City is an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, religion, ethnicity, marital, or domestic partnerships status, disability, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expressions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws.

Our management is committed to following this policy with respect to hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, recruiting, pay, and other forms of compensation, training, and general treatment during employment.