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Manager, External Development Intelligence

* We are open to considering candidates at the Manager or Senior Manager level, depending on capabilities. *

XDI team’s mission statement is to de-risk external development. As part of Business Development, we search the globe for trusted and talented partners to work with EA Studio game teams and central technology teams. We are a central team that owns EA’s due diligence evaluation process and risk management process. We support multiple disciplines, including co-dev, porting, art, animation, cinematics, UX-UI, engineering, and audio.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner evaluations and due diligence reporting using XDI’s risk management framework.
• Strategic partner portfolio management including regular check-ins and on-site assessments with established partners to ensure ongoing trusted partnerships and partner viability.
• As a key partner in EA’s Game Development Framework we support a portfolio of internal game teams and central tech teams by consulting on external development strategy, recommending partners, providing partner risk assessments, and occasionally helping with issue resolution.
• Collaboration with a broad cross section of central teams including Legal, Security, Audit, Global Strategic Sourcing, EA Create, Finance, Compliance, and other central roles to ensure clear process and program management of EA’s requirements for working with external partners.

Team Related:

• XDI is a small team that works in a mostly distributed fashion. We have team members in Redwood Shores, CA, Seattle, WA, and Vancouver, B.C.
• We interface with team members and partners around the globe. Our work is primarily conducted using video conference technology, email, Slack, and project management tools.
• Early morning or evening calls and travel are a reality for this role as we interface with global partners and teams. That said, our team is encouraged to strive for work life balance and to proactively manage their schedules in a way that supports this goal.
• Candidates with a strong preference for an in-person team dynamic may not thrive in this role.
• Our team members know that our team doesn’t start and stop with XDI. It’s important to expand our network (both within EA and external).
• Our team members are self-directed with an uncanny ability to quickly surface the right information at the right time to those who need it.

Business Partnerships:

• XDI manages EA’s Strategic Partner portfolio. As a manager, you will be a dedicated point of contact for a subset of this portfolio. Managers must be well versed at evaluating development and operational risks, issue resolution, and have a high degree of integrity when it comes to conducting yourself with outside key partners.
• Managers share critical knowledge about our partners with XDI, other Business Development groups, and teams across the company to ensure those working with our partners access to the information they need to make key decisions.

Experience & Capabilities:

• Must have experience interfacing with external partners. Our team strikes a fine balance between advocacy for our partners and conducting risk evaluations to ensure EA’s IP is protected. Candidates have to be able to do both.
• Ability to think and act globally. We interact with EA teams and external partners from all over the globe. We expect our team members to conduct themselves with high integrity and embrace cultural differences, value diverse opinions, and do their part to promote an inclusive development environment.
• Demonstrated business acumen: this role requires objective decision making, influence without direct authority, and excellent collaboration ability with diverse teams and partners.
• Lifelong learner who is inquisitive and enjoys knowledge acquisition as much as knowledge sharing. Should have a degree of comfort with public speaking, delivering presentations/panels, and facilitating brainstorming sessions.
• Game development experience as a Producer, Development Manager, or Project Manager highly desirable.
• Generalists with enough knowledge to be dangerous across all core development disciplines are highly sought.
• Experience in centralized positions such as studio operations, publishing, licensing, program management, business development are highly transferable for this role.
• You will be expected to travel on-site to visit your partners on occasion and while often you will travel with other XDI team members or EA game team members there are times you will be asked to travel alone. Must have a degree of comfort with business travel and everything that comes with it (expense reports, airports, time zone changes, etc). On average, XDI team members do one international trip (1 week+/- duration) and 2-3 short domestic trips a quarter.

XDI Team Values:

• Collaborative team players.
• Ethical, fair, objective decision makers.
• Support and solution focused.
• Think and act globally.
• Work life balance is key to our success.
• Self-directed with inner drive.
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
• Influence without ego.
• Passion and enthusiasm.

Reporting:

This role reports to the Director of External Development Intelligence, as part of EA’s Business Development organization.