Director of Game Design, Founders School

Founders School is launching a groundbreaking high school in New York City with an unprecedented guarantee: students will earn $1 million in profit before they graduate, or receive full tuition reimbursement. Yet our vision reaches well beyond one school. We are creating the first business simulation game in which every significant advancement is unlocked by developing genuine entrepreneurial capabilities—pricing strategies, marketing execution, team building, and operational management.

This is the founding leadership position that will define that vision. You will control the game's creative direction, product roadmap, and development organization while collaborating directly with Founders School's executive team. Your role is to evaluate the concept we have built, determine where it falls short, and help architect a superior vision before assembling and directing the team that executes it.

The challenge has no parallel in gaming or education. You must design a simulation that players genuinely choose to engage with for ten consecutive hours while delivering measurable improvement in their ability to operate an actual business. Most games achieve entertainment. Most educational platforms fail to sustain engagement. We are convinced both outcomes are achievable, and we are seeking the individual who can demonstrate it.

You will also help establish how contemporary games are developed. AI must be integrated into every phase of your creative workflow—from design exploration and systems balancing to rapid prototyping, content generation, playtest evaluation, and production execution.

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

• Establish and control the creative vision, gameplay architecture, and product strategy for a business simulation game that imparts authentic entrepreneurial expertise through deeply engaging play.
• Assemble and direct a senior game development organization, recruiting exceptional professionals and fostering a culture that delivers rapidly and iterates continuously.
• Collaborate with Founders School executives, educators, and business operators to convert real-world commercial principles into captivating gameplay systems.
• Integrate AI across the entire development pipeline to accelerate design iteration, systems balancing, prototype generation, content production, and workflow optimization.
• Achieve concrete milestones, including a functional vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtest results, and a scalable architecture for additional simulation experiences.

• Designing another incremental simulation game with conventional mechanics and negligible real-world relevance.
• Investing months drafting design specifications rather than delivering playable prototypes.
• Operating within a large organization where creative authority is constrained by multiple approval layers.
• Viewing AI as a supplementary efficiency tool rather than a fundamental component of your design methodology.
• Developing educational products that players endure rather than experiences they actively seek out.

Direct the development of the world's most compelling business simulation game by recruiting the team, establishing 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 solving substantive gameplay challenges.
• Initial playtests demonstrate that teenagers reliably characterize the game as enjoyable before realizing the depth of their learning.
• You have recruited and integrated the founding game development organization, maintaining consistent, high-caliber release cycles.
• Within 12 months, you have deployed a closed beta with over 1,000 participants, secured 40%+ 30-day retention, and established a production rhythm capable of launching new simulation content sustainably.

• Track record shipping at least one…