Head of Game Design

Allow us to introduce ourselves:

Exient is a leading video game developer and publisher with 24 years of experience. Our extensive portfolio boasts a range of games across mobile, PC, console and handheld and includes titles such as Lemmings, Angry Birds Transformers, F1, Madden, FIFA and many more.

We are based in both Malta and the UK and we currently have a little over forty people in our team across the two locations, it's a multicultural group of hardworking friendly people.

Since we were founded (way back in 2000), we have worked with some amazing partners including companies like Activision, Disney, EA, Sony and Ubisoft and we have made some great games together.

We are expanding and are looking for talented and driven staff with a passion for gaming.

Your mission as Head of Game Design!

We are currently looking to recruit a Head of Game Design who will take ownership of elements of the vision of our products, including gameplay, visual style, story, audio assets, and cinematics.

Whilst this is a leadership role with a focus on team management, you will also have significant involvement with hands-on design and strategic planning. Your deep knowledge and understanding of game design will enable you to offer advice and make recommendations to the teams. Quickly and effectively appraising proposed solutions and providing appropriate direction.

You should have excellent knowledge of game design philosophies, game production, creative production processes and a deep understanding of assorted design pipelines. 

From a leadership perspective you will be required to identify cross-team efficiencies, lead recruitment activities for the design department and help us to champion any updated procedures or working practices.      

Responsibilities include

• Leading a cross-functional team of game designers who work on a range of internal and work-for-hire projects
• Combining your strong knowledge and innovation of industry standards and enable your team to do the same
• Conducting regular and meaningful one-to-ones with the team and build a personal development plan for each team member
• Finding and managing outsourced studios to be able to keep up with changing workload needs when needed
• Working on concepts and pitches for internal projects, external projects, licensing and other opportunities
• Working with production to manage and schedule design content creation during all phases of production including live phases
• Communicate with the project leadership team and across all sub-disciplines
• Motivating direct and indirect reports, building an open rapport within all departments, and maintaining and building morale at all times 
• Championing and promoting the business at all times, promoting its achievements and capabilities, internally and externally 

Experience

• A minimum of eight years of experience in game design, the majority of which are in a mobile games company at a leadership level
• Experience as a Head of Design or even a Lead Game Designer looking for a step up
• Proven track record of shipping successful games and live ops updates
• Proven experience building and leading teams through full production cycles
• Proven experience of pitching and working with other teams to develop the vision they are seeking and collaborate with the leadership team and devs to bring that vision to fruition
• Experience planning, prioritising, and setting inspiring objectives for team members, giving them clear expectations and holding them accountable for their key results

Technical

• A deep understanding of data and how it can contribute to understanding player behaviour and creating games players love
• Solid knowledge of the latest game industry trends, mechanics & UX
• A strong knowledge of video games of all genres especially mobile games & the market’s most popular titles
• In-depth knowledge of free-to-play and premium game mechanics & game systems
• In-depth knowledge of player demographics, what those players are looking for and current trends in both premium and free-to-play game design
• Proficient in all aspects of game design, including gameplay, level design, game structure, balancing, & reward systems
• Know how to prototype your ideas utilising market-leading tools such as Figma, Photoshop,  Unity etc.
• A strong ability to evaluate and analyze games and then provide meaningful feedback to guide the teams
• A very clear understanding of business in the current market (monetisation, social, acquisition, retention) and the ability to constantly provide direction to teams to help push every game to its maximum potential

Interpersonal 

• Fluency in English is essential
• Problem-solving pragmatist with an empowered can-do attitude
• A team motivator who leads from the front and owns decisions
• Hungry, for greater success, team empowerment, delegation and support
• A motivator, believer in small teams, creativity and fast iteration