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Development Director

Would you like to work on some of the greatest franchises in gaming history? Certain Affinity, the largest independent video game developer in Austin is comprised of a tightly knit group of experienced, no-nonsense veterans committed to solid work/life balance. We’re best known for co-developing numerous AAA FPS games, though we are also creating compelling new games of our own.

Certain Affinity is looking for an exceptional Development Director to help manage a games-as-a-service product across the production and the live-ops teams. As a Development Director, you will oversee the project schedule, team management, hiring, and lead the team to deliver a successful FTP game on multiple platforms. Your focus will be on achieving outcomes, proactively solving problems, and ensuring your project runs smoothly. This position is a key leadership role that involves a high level of interaction with team members, peers, and studio leadership.

Role and Responsibilities

• Responsible for building and leading a strong production team; oversee recruiting, onboarding, retention, coaching and mentoring staff
• Collaborate with key project leaders to define the project’s vision, mission, and strategy; develop and drive plans to achieve those objectives
• Drive project planning and execution; hold teams accountable for meeting milestone commitments and quality targets
• Develop team-wide processes that foster strong communication and development practices
• Drive efficiencies and new ways of thinking to reduce waste and increasing predictability
• Coordinate dependencies with supporting organizations across the company and with external co-development studios
• Set goals and priorities that help teams focus on the critical few: filters issues based on a clear understanding of project strategies and objectives
• Solve problems of all types as they arise and find creative and effective solutions which achieve results
• Work closely with the discipline leads to determine outsourcing needs and pipelines
• Foster an engaging, fulfilling and fun working environment

Requirements

• At least 7 years of project management experience in the online AAA console and PC game development
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral
• Must be highly organized, self-motivated, and customer focused
• Successful deployment and ongoing maintenance of at least one live-service game
• Must thoroughly understand the mechanics behind cross-discipline team collaboration and development driven product ownership
• Ability to multi-task and handle many discrete, highly varied tasks at once without losing focus on any individual items and without missing a stride
• Deep knowledge of game development – team dynamics, common development hurdles, game engines and technology, development milestone definitions, production process and methodology, outsourcing and co-development scheduling
• A cool-headed, diplomatic leader able to maintain critical confidentially and to have crucial, and at times sensitive, conversations
• Excellent people skills, with the ability to work collaboratively to solve problems efficiently
• An expert understanding of production and proven ability to schedule, communicate and monitor tasks
• Great with time estimations, assessments, and prioritizing
• Ability to collaboratively create and implement the best production practices regarding the specific needs of the individual teams
• Ability to lead external teams
• Project management software skills using Jira or other project management software

Extra Credit

• Experience working, partnering, and building strong relationships with established brands and IP holders
• College degree in a related field such as Computer Science or Business Management
• Experience with large-scale development using UE4
• Avid gamer on multiple platforms
• Experience with FPS titles

This position requires the ability to travel internationally. Relocation to Austin, TX is a requirement for this position.