Head of Design i Stockholm

We entertain millions of people across the globe with the most amazing and immersive interactive software in the industry. But making games is hard work. That’s why we employ the most creative, passionate people in the industry.

DICE (EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment), the award-winning developer based in Stockholm, Sweden, is best known for creating the phenomenally successful Battlefield franchise.

The challenge ahead…

We are now looking for an individual that is to head up the design discipline at DICE. You will be the creative center and own the overall vision for the design subject matter.

The next great Head of Design at DICE needs:

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leader for the designer and beyond, spokesperson for the business around the company and outside EA
• Grow studio from a design perspective to be able to make successful franchises capable of multiple versions and build the best design team in the world by:
  • Define organizational strategy and workforce planning
  • Grow the design team by workforce planning and recruitment/new hires
  • Ensure the right training, mentoring, guidance and feedback loops are in place for all of the design team
  • Actively work with talent development and succession planning for the Sr. designers of the studio
• Build a collaborative relationship with each development team as well as with the Head of Art and Head of Engineering
• Coordinate with team leads to ensure information flow between disciplines
• Creative center and overall vision (the DICE core design pillars) for the business; an expert in the subject matter, motivate and empower creative talent on the team to execute on that vision
• Health of the team; ensure everyone is motivated and engaged
• Act as a design and business resource/mentor to design directors and producers, assisting them in the resolution of complex problems and providing with long-term direction and goals.
• Increase Credibility for the design discipline

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Fostering a culture of the perfect blend of gut instinct and analytically driven design. Drive the designer teams to what define and learn from what good looks like, drive the guild to constantly improving KPIs
• Coordinate design resources throughout the studio to ensure successful project completion
• Support the strategic planning and budgeting processes for products, providing financial, technical and creative input to management and development efforts
• Work with studio finance to prepare accurate and reasonable team budgets
• Make sure that the right people are added to the team at the right time, and partner with HR and TA as needed on staffing
• Review the projects from a design perspective but with a product mindset in the formalized gate process
• Work with teams and studio regarding change management, cost of change and return of investments
• Make sure that tools and workflows allows creativity as well as efficiency

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Fostering a culture of creativity at its place, how can we get creativity to be more efficient and predictable
• Master and drive the design process for the studio in all stages of the GDF
• Create opportunities for creative processes outside the specific games design
• Evangelize game design to the studio and generate excitement and enthusiasm among the design team
• Facilitate clear communications with feature spec documents & key screen mock-ups
• Review and evaluate competitive products; establishes, maintains and enhances creative relationships with inside and outside developers

REQUIREMENTS

• Strategic organizational intelligence
• Excellent understanding of the bigger picture of game development, including the impact of their decisions with respect to financial and managerial outcomes
• Broad knowledge of game design, game mechanics, game balancing concepts, designer toolsets and techniques
• A track record of delivering multiple high-quality entertainment experiences
• Extensive experience leading, motivating and driving teams to success
• Extensive industry experience working as a Game Designer/Design Director and/or executing game project plans as a Producer/Creative Director
• Possess imagination, creativity, and problem-solving skills, as well as excellent communication and presentation skills
• Experience from; game conceptualization and pitch high level game ideas
• Clear views of the current market trends and consumer demographics, i.e. ability to know what types of products will sell and what won’t sell and be able to assess the feasibility of producing a new product