Design Lead

What will you work on?

The role will take the lead on anything related to gameplay, content and aesthetics, from concept through production. This individual should have insights on what’s trending. The person in this role will be responsible for pitching and presenting their projects to the cross-functional teams, so strong presentation skills are a bonus. The Design Lead will partner with the Design Manager and Directors on all related projects and will also work closely with the copywriting team to craft the voice and content for each item (…so be funny!)

How will you create impact?

• Create engaging game designs and gameplay mechanics for all age demographics.
• Generate and communicate the tone, style and plan for the content needed for each project.
• Detail design of components and products for manufacturing.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams on generating new concepts, specs, and deliverables on cost and on time.
• Act as the Project Lead and drive projects from concept to production.
• Present concepts with clarity and direction to all levels of the organization.
• Lead prototyping and gameplay sessions to prove gameplay, features, new mechanisms, and/or manufacturing feasibility.
• Identify key social trends, market trends, play patterns and mechanisms to inform design choices.
• Generate and brainstorm game names, taglines and two sentence summaries of gameplay.
• Ability to write examples of the voice and content needed for game rules and components, to provide clear direction on expectations to copywriting team.
• Impart best practices to effectively design high profile items with strategic initiatives, and early concept explorations.
• Identify issues, formulate resolution action plan, and execute through to completion with limited oversight– leverage executive leadership and functional partners to gain necessary resources and support.
• Be key point of design contact with Manufacturing Engineering teams (in Asia, Mexico, EU, etc), and ensure alignment on all project details.

What are your skills and experience?

• 8+years Game Design or consumer product development experience
• Gameplay Aptitude – creates engaging game designs and gameplay mechanics for all age demographics. Has an eye for simple, effective gameplay concepts that can be easily communicated to the consumer. Has a broad knowledge of the game industry, gameplay types and trends.
• Content Creation and Storytelling – can communicate and generate the tone, style and plan for the content needed for each game.
• Sketching - creates more refined sketches for communicating ideas internally; Directs vendors with confidence; Can do very good quick napkin sketches to communicate effectively.
• Design Software - proficient in Photoshop/Illustrator; Can create engaging PowerPoint presentations with flashy GIFS and animations; Can film and create basic sizzles in video editing software.
• Visual Communications -proficient at creating presentation decks, engaging visual boards and beautiful and focused island shots that communicate exactly what is intended; Understands the importance of layout, colors, text size, product placement etc. and how it can affect the presentation outcome
• Manufacturing Understanding - has gained historical knowledge of manufacturing processes from previous projects; Understands and applies sound principles during all stages of development; Has thorough understanding of manufacturing capabilities within their category.
• Consumer Insight Understanding - knows what and how to test a prototype with the appropriate consumer, what clues and cues to look out for while testing - and how the results inform the RD of a game throughout its development.
• Product Life Cycle - has completed many rounds of product life cycles and understands how schedule influences each stage and starts to intuitively anticipate next steps and challenges, then plan for them.

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in New York City is $100,000 to $130,000 per annum. The salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to years of experience within the job, years of experience within the required
industry, education, etc. Spin Master Inc. is a multi-state employer, and this salary range may not reflect positions that work only in other states.

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