Game Systems Director, Founders School - $400,000​/year USD

Founders School is an innovative high school opening in New York City with a bold commitment: students will earn $1 million in profit before they graduate, or their tuition will be refunded. Yet our vision reaches well beyond a single school. We are creating the first business simulation game in which every significant advancement is unlocked by developing genuine entrepreneurial competencies—pricing, marketing, hiring, and operations.

This is the founding leadership position that will define that vision. You will direct the game's creative strategy, product roadmap, and development team, collaborating directly with Founders School's senior leadership. Your role is to evaluate the concept we've built, determine where it falls short, and refine a stronger vision before guiding the team that executes it.

The opportunity is unprecedented in both the games and education sectors. You must deliver a simulation that players actively choose to engage with for ten consecutive hours while measurably improving their ability to operate a real business. Most games achieve entertainment. Most educational platforms fail to sustain engagement. We are convinced both outcomes are achievable, and we are seeking the leader who can deliver them.

You will also establish how modern game development integrates AI. AI must inform every phase of your creative workflow—design exploration, balancing, prototyping, content generation, playtest interpretation, and production execution.

If you have aspired to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that moment. If that resonates with you, we want to connect.

• Establish and direct the creative vision, gameplay architecture, and product strategy for a business simulation game that imparts real entrepreneurial skills through authentically engaging play.
• Assemble and manage a senior game development team, recruiting top-tier talent and fostering a culture of rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Founders School leadership, educators, and business operators to convert real-world commercial principles into compelling game mechanics.
• Integrate AI across the full development cycle to streamline design, balancing, prototyping, content generation, and production pipelines.
• Achieve defined milestones, including a playable vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtests, and a scalable infrastructure for additional simulation titles.

• Designing another incremental simulation game with conventional mechanics and minimal real-world relevance.
• Investing months drafting design documentation instead of delivering playable builds.
• Operating within a large studio where creative direction is constrained by multiple approval tiers.
• Viewing AI as a supplementary efficiency tool rather than a foundational element of your creative workflow.
• Producing educational software that users endure rather than games they authentically enjoy.

Direct the development of the world's most compelling business simulation game by assembling the team, shaping the vision, and shipping a product that transforms players into better entrepreneurs through gameplay.

• Within 6 months, you have shipped a playable vertical slice in which players advance through authentic business competencies by completing substantive gameplay tasks.
• Initial playtests reveal that teenagers reliably characterize the game as entertaining before they realize the depth of their learning.
• You have recruited and onboarded the core game development team, delivering consistent, high-caliber releases.
• Within 12 months, you have deployed a closed beta exceeding 1,000 players, secured 40%+ retention at 30 days, and implemented a development rhythm capable of launching new simulation experiences sustainably.

• Track record of shipping at least one commercially successful game that resonated deeply with players, preferably within a team of 10 or fewer.
• Proven experience directing cross-functional game development from initial concept through public launch.
• Advanced proficiency designing simulation,…