Game Design Director

About the role

We are seeking a design leader to guide the evolution of Star Trek Fleet Command, a long-running 4X MMO that serves millions of players globally. In this role, you will own the strategic oversight of the content pipeline and systems architecture that powers our live operations. You will be responsible for ensuring that our live content cadence remains engaging, balanced, and sustainable over the long term. The position requires a deep understanding of how systemic design impacts player progression, retention, and monetization in a competitive market. You will act as the primary architect of our design philosophy for the Star Trek Fleet Command universe. This includes defining the boundaries within which our teams can innovate and execute. Your work will directly influence the player experience across every faction, event, and progression system we ship.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Direct the design and live operations teams to produce high-quality monthly content for Star Trek Fleet Command.
• Mentor staff on systems and economy design to maintain high creative standards and ensure consistency across all design deliverables.
• Collaborate with product managers, analysts, and engineers to refine game features based on strategic objectives and player behavior.
• Use player feedback, performance data, and playtesting results to inform design decisions and validate hypotheses.
• Plan for long-term system health and content scalability, anticipating future needs and potential bottlenecks in the pipeline.
• Foster a culture of high performance and professional development within the design department through coaching and clear goal setting.
• Own the end-to-end design lifecycle for major features, from initial concept through live implementation and post-launch analysis.
• Establish design documentation standards that enable efficient communication between design, engineering, and analytics teams.
• Identify opportunities to optimize the player journey by analyzing drop-off points and engagement patterns across multiple cohorts.
• Drive alignment between creative ambition and technical constraints to ensure feasible and maintainable design solutions.
• Evaluate the impact of balance changes on player diversity and competitive integrity across different playstyles and ranks.
• Partner with marketing and community teams to ensure that design announcements are accurate, exciting, and technically sound.
• Define key performance indicators for new systems and iteratively adjust designs based on observed behavioral data.
• Act as the final authority on design quality, ensuring that all content meets the rigorous standards expected of a premium live service.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in systems or economy design for live, free-to-play games, ideally in strategy, 4X, or MMO genres.
• 5+ years of experience in a game design leadership role with direct reports and cross-functional influence.
• Mastery of complex free-to-play game economies, including understanding of inflation, scarcity, and player-driven markets.
• Proficiency in balancing power curves, resource flow, and pacing using spreadsheets and data visualization tools.
• Proven ability to translate data and KPIs into actionable design direction without losing sight of creative goals.
• Expertise across the full design lifecycle, including monetization, retention, progression, and interface considerations.
• Demonstrated success in providing clear creative feedback and managing design teams through ambiguity and change.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex systems into understandable narratives for stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Specific experience with free-to-play 4X titles and the unique design challenges they present.
• Familiarity with simulation tools, SQL, or scripting to automate analysis and validate design assumptions.
• Interest in Star Trek, sci-fi, or social strategy games, which helps in connecting with the player community.
• Background working on co-op or alliance systems in large-scale titles where player collaboration is central.

Skills & tools

• Game economy modeling to predict player behavior and financial health of the game systems.
• Systems design to create robust frameworks that support multiple interconnected mechanics.
• Spreadsheet mastery to build scalable models, track metrics, and simulate economic scenarios.
• Live operations management to coordinate content releases, monitor health metrics, and respond to incidents.
• Cross-functional team leadership to align engineering, analytics, and art around a shared design vision.

Practical notes

Please submit your resume in English so that we can accurately assess your qualifications and experience. Scopely will never ask for payment during the hiring process under any circumstances, and any request for payment should be treated as fraudulent. Ensure all official communication comes from a scopely.com email address to confirm the authenticity of the message. We will not communicate with candidates via personal email domains or third-party messaging platforms for official hiring purposes. All selected candidates will be contacted through our official recruitment channels located on our corporate career site. The role is based in a hybrid environment, allowing for remote work but requiring occasional collaboration with local teams during standard business hours. Travel is not required for this position, and we do not sponsor visas for this role as the engagement is fully remote eligible under the location options provided. This position is exempt and salaried in accordance with local labor laws.