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

About the Role

Founders School is a new high school opening in New York City built around a bold commitment: students will produce $1 million in profit before they graduate, or their tuition will be refunded. Our vision reaches beyond a single location—we are creating the first business simulation game where every significant advancement comes from mastering authentic entrepreneurial competencies such as pricing strategy, marketing execution, team hiring, and operational management.

This founding leadership position will define that vision. You will control the game's creative strategy, product roadmap, and development organization while collaborating directly with Founders School's senior leadership. Your mandate is to assess the concept, identify weaknesses, refine a stronger vision, and assemble and direct the team that executes it. The challenge is unique: design a simulation that players willingly engage with for ten consecutive hours while measurably improving their ability to operate a real company. Most games achieve entertainment, and most educational platforms fail to sustain engagement. We believe excellence in both is achievable.

You will also help establish how contemporary games are developed by integrating AI into every phase of the creative workflow—design iteration, systems balancing, rapid prototyping, content generation, playtest data analysis, and production pipeline optimization. If you aspire to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that opportunity.

Responsibilities

• Own and articulate the creative vision, core gameplay systems, and product strategy for a business simulation game that develops real entrepreneurial capabilities through compelling play.
• Recruit and lead a senior game development team, attracting outstanding talent and establishing a culture oriented toward rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Founders School leadership, educators, and practicing entrepreneurs to convert real-world business fundamentals into engaging gameplay mechanics.
• Integrate AI across the entire development process to accelerate design iteration, systems balancing, prototype development, content production, and workflow optimization.
• Achieve concrete milestones, including delivery of a playable vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtesting outcomes, and a scalable architecture for additional simulation titles.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Creating derivative simulation games that rely on familiar formulas and produce negligible real-world value.
• Investing months in elaborate design documentation rather than delivering playable prototypes.
• Operating within a large studio environment where creative authority is diluted by bureaucratic approval processes.
• Viewing AI as a peripheral productivity enhancement rather than an integral component of your creative methodology.
• Developing educational software that players endure rather than games they authentically enjoy.

Success in Your First Year

• Within 6 months: Ship a playable vertical slice where players advance through authentic business competencies by completing substantive gameplay objectives. Initial playtests demonstrate teenagers consistently find the game enjoyable before realizing the depth of their learning. Recruit and integrate the founding game development team, establishing a cadence of regular, high-quality releases.
• Within 12 months: Deploy a closed beta with over 1,000 participants, attain 40%+ 30-day retention, and implement a sustainable development rhythm capable of launching additional simulation experiences.

Requirements

• Track record of shipping at least one commercially successful game that players authentically loved, preferably within a team of 10 people or fewer.
• Proven experience directing multidisciplinary game development initiatives from initial concept through public launch.
• Deep domain expertise in designing simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game experiences.
• Active daily application of generative AI tools to enhance game design and development workflows, with concrete recent examples of AI integration in your practice.
• Enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and sincere conviction in the importance of building profitable ventures.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.
• Commitment to working on-site in New York City.
• Authorization to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Track record shipping sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation game titles.
• Experience developing products designed for audiences under 18 years old.
• Experience embedding education or skill acquisition into entertainment experiences.
• Experience collaborating with high-profile brands, content creators, or licensed properties.
• Demonstrated success scaling a game development team from early concept phase through successful market launch.

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 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.

Pay

The compensation level for this role is $200 USD/hour, which equates to $400,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly.

Schedule

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement.