Director of Game Design $400,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
Founders School is an innovative high school opening in New York City with a bold commitment: students will earn $1 million in profit before they graduate, or receive a full tuition refund. Our vision reaches well beyond one school. We are creating the first business simulation game in which every significant advancement is unlocked by acquiring genuine entrepreneurial capabilities—pricing, marketing, hiring, and operational management.
This is the founding leadership position that will bring that vision to life. You will control the game's creative strategy, product roadmap, and development organization while collaborating directly with Founders School's executive team. Your role is to evaluate the concept we have built, recognize what requires improvement, and contribute to refining a superior vision before guiding the team that executes it.
The opportunity is unparalleled in gaming and education. You must design a simulation that players willingly engage with for ten consecutive hours while demonstrably improving their ability to operate a real business. Most games deliver entertainment. Most educational products fail to sustain engagement. We are convinced both outcomes are achievable, and we are seeking the individual who can demonstrate it.
You will also establish how contemporary games are developed. AI must be integrated into every phase of your creative workflow—design iteration and balancing, prototyping, content production, playtest evaluation, and development execution.
If you have long aspired to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that moment. If that resonates, we want to connect with you.
What you will be doing
• Establish and control the creative strategy, gameplay architecture, and product trajectory for a business simulation game that imparts authentic entrepreneurial knowledge through genuinely compelling play.
• Assemble and manage a senior game development organization, recruiting outstanding talent and fostering a culture of rapid iteration and continuous refinement.
• Collaborate with Founders School executives, educators, and business practitioners to convert real-world entrepreneurial concepts into engaging gameplay structures.
• Integrate AI across the entire development process to enhance design iteration, balancing, prototyping, content generation, and production efficiency.
• Achieve concrete milestones, including a functional vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtests, and a robust platform for future simulation titles.
What you will NOT be doing
• Developing another formulaic simulation game with conventional mechanics and minimal real-world relevance.
• Investing months drafting design documentation rather than delivering playable prototypes.
• Operating within a large organization where creative authority is constrained by multiple approval layers.
• Viewing AI as a supplementary efficiency tool rather than an integral component of your creative methodology.
• Producing educational products that players endure rather than games they authentically enjoy.
Key responsibilities
Direct the development of the world's most compelling business simulation game by assembling the team, establishing the creative vision, and shipping a product that transforms players into better entrepreneurs through gameplay.
Success in Your First Year
• Within 6 months, you have shipped a playable vertical slice in which players advance through authentic business competencies by completing substantive gameplay objectives.
• Initial playtests reveal that teenagers reliably characterize the game as enjoyable before realizing the extent of their learning.
• You have recruited and integrated the founding game development team, maintaining consistent, high-caliber output.
• Within 12 months, you have deployed a closed beta exceeding 1,000 players, attained 40%+ 30-day retention, and implemented a development rhythm capable of delivering new simulation experiences sustainably.
Candidate requirements
• Track record shipping at least one commercially successful game that players authentically valued, preferably within a team of 10 or fewer.
• Proven experience directing multidisciplinary game development from initial concept through public launch.
• Extensive expertise crafting simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game experiences.
• Active daily application of generative AI tools to enhance game design and development workflows, with demonstrable recent examples of AI integration in your process.
• Enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and authentic conviction in the importance of building profitable enterprises.
• Proven leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.
• Availability to work on-site in New York City.
• Authorization to work in the US without requiring sponsorship.
Nice to have
• Background shipping sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation game titles.
• Experience developing products targeting audiences under 18.
• Experience embedding education or skill acquisition into entertainment offerings.
• Experience collaborating with prominent brands, creators, or licensed properties.
• Demonstrated success scaling a game team from early-stage concept through successful market launch.
Applying for a role? Here’s what to expect.
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