Development Director / Ops Lead

Requisition Number: 151258

Position Title: DD II

External Description:

Development Director / Ops Lead

We are looking for an experienced Development Director to join our team in Redwood City, California. If you are passionate about gaming and leading a dedicated team, come work with us to run one of our longest live services team with the Pogo Studio.  

As a Development Director, you will drive planning and execution on cross-functional development teams to support platform development and a series of live games including the building & shipping of content with both internal and external teams.  You will lead the team in partnership with a Producer. This is a key leadership role that involves a high level of interaction with team members, peers, and product leadership. Development Directors focus on outcomes, solving problems, and optimizing for efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for the full operational aspects of the game development, including identifying best practices, establishing development framework, reporting, risk management, resource management and budget.
• Responsible for building and leading a strong production team; oversee recruiting, onboarding, retention, coaching and mentoring staff. 
• Collaborate with studio leadership to define the strategy to execute against milestones and key deliverables.
• Ensure the teams have the best organizational structure, processes and practices that allow them to produce high quality work efficiently on time and on budget.
• Drive efficiencies and new ways of thinking with a goal of reducing waste and increasing predictability.
• Foster an engaging, fulfilling and fun working environment.
• Help the team focus on the critical few: filters issues based on a clear understanding of the studio strategies and objectives, and help the team break down complex problems.
• Develop, maintain and publish project KPI’s that track project quality, delivery and predictability.

Leadership

• Build a resilient, capable team which embraces accountability, seeks opportunities to maximize their potential, and takes pride in their accomplishments.
• Build an effective partnership with the Studio General Manager, establish trust and credibility with Studio leadership and staff
• Collaborate with other key studio leaders to define the organization’s vision, mission, and strategy; develop and drive plans to achieve those objectives
• Strengthen the Development Director discipline through hiring, training, coaching, and mentoring

Operations

• Create and own the studio product roadmap, accounting for live operations and title planning
• Develop KPIs to track project delivery, quality, financial performance, and risk
• Identify and manage operational risk
• Define and implement standardized operating procedures and communication plans
• Coordinate with supporting organizations such as Finance, Central Technology, Core QA, Recruiting, HR, and IT
• Identify, assign, and track development and operational issues to completion
• Solve complex problems and balance priorities across multiple disciplines and teams

Financial Management & Business Development

• Manage the studio P&L, including operating budgets, revenue projection, operating and resourcing
• Partner with finance manager to create forecasts and maintain long-term financial plans
• Create and manage plans for:
• • staffing and central services
  • hardware & software replacements and upgrades
• Supervise budget management and approve expenditures for studio
• Identify financial risks and opportunities

Development

• Drive project planning and execution through Lead Development Directors, hold teams accountable for meeting milestone commitments and quality targets
• Create, own, and improve all development processes, including effective implementation of agile methods.
• Create and validate project plans for each of the studio teams, including scope, schedule, dependencies, and risk
• Coordinate external dependencies with supporting organizations across the company.
• Establish and operate a system to measure and track quality.
• Manage development budgets including outsourcing, temp hiring, and central services.
• Identify, assign, and track development and organizational issues to completion.
• Keep the team informed on development results, schedule, and changes.
• Report status at regular intervals, escalate urgent issues in a timely manner.
• Ensure the team is trained on the necessary skills, processes, and best practices.
• Solve problems, balance priorities, and find creative solutions which achieve results.
• Seek knowledge and apply it to improve the organization.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years of project management experience in the software industry.
• 5-7 years in a team leadership role, strong people management skills.
• 3+ years of operational leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Mastery of managing multiple projects with Agile project management principles and practices.
• In-depth experience with project management tools such as JIRA or Hansoft.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills - able to work on complex problems where analysis of situations requires an in-depth evaluation of various factors and judgement.
• Strong negotiation, change management, and conflict resolution skills.
• Strong relationship building skills and the ability to establish credibility and influence within centralized EA groups.
• High degree of initiative, takes opportunities to make improvements.
• Expertise using Excel to track, model, and analyze data to support business strategy
• Expertise presenting high-impact plans and recommendations to executives
• Ownership mentality: responsible, invested in outcomes
• Integrity

Bonuses

• Platform/Game development experience (especially full cycle experience on shipped titles).
• Experience in managing live services and remote development
• History of driving continuous improvements
• Previous Development Director experience at EA or in similar roles in other companies
• Project management certifications or training.
• Master’s degree in a related field.

City:

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Community / Marketing Title: Development Director / Ops Lead

Company Profile:

We are a global team of creators, storytellers, technologists, experience originators, innovators and so much more. We believe amazing games and experiences start with teams as diverse as the players and communities we serve. At Electronic Arts, the only limit is your imagination.

EEOText:

About Electronic Arts

Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.

We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.

Days Open: 106

Can this position be remote?:

EEO Employer Verbiage:

About Electronic Arts

Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.

We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.