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

Key Responsibilities

• Own the creative vision, core gameplay systems, and product strategy for a business simulation game that imparts genuine entrepreneurial competencies through deeply engaging play.
• Recruit and manage a senior development team, attracting top-tier talent and fostering a culture focused on rapid iteration and continuous refinement.
• Collaborate with Founders School's leadership, educators, and practicing entrepreneurs to convert authentic business concepts into captivating game mechanics.
• Integrate AI across the entire development pipeline to expedite design iteration, balance tuning, prototyping cycles, content production, and workflow optimization.
• Achieve defined milestones, including a functional vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtests, and an extensible architecture for future simulation titles.

Basic Requirements

• Track record of shipping at least one commercially successful game with demonstrated player affinity, preferably within a team of 10 or fewer.
• Proven experience directing cross-functional game development from initial concept through public launch.
• Specialized expertise in designing simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game genres.
• Active daily application of generative AI tools to enhance game design and production workflows, with demonstrable recent examples of AI integration in your practice.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.
• Availability to work on-site in New York City.
• Authorization to work in the US without sponsorship requirements.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Shipped titles in sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation categories.
• Experience designing for audiences under 18 years of age.
• Background integrating educational or skill-building elements into entertainment experiences.
• Experience collaborating with prominent brands, creators, or licensed properties.
• Demonstrated success scaling a game team from early concept stage through commercially successful release.

About Founders School

Founders School is a four-year high school built for ambitious students who want to create, build, and solve meaningful problems. The program combines Alpha School's elite academics, real-world experience, and mentorship from world-class entrepreneurs around three commitments to every student: Build a million-dollar business. Identify problems in the world worth solving. Master AI before adults do. This is a place for people who'd rather build the thing than manage the thing. We're hiring the founding team that builds the dream high school for the most entrepreneurial and ambitious students in the country. Launching in NYC Fall 2026.