Open to opportunities

Aleksandar Kostoski Cro

@aleksandarkostoskicr

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Product Owner & Lead Game Designer driving engagement, retention, and team performance.

North Macedonia

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What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can lead multidisciplinary teams to ship engaging F2P mobile/PC games, influence product strategy, and mentor designers while improving retention and monetization.

I am a Product Owner, Product Manager and Lead Game Designer with experience leading remote teams across mobile and PC games since 2005, contributing to over 100 titles and improving KPIs, delivery quality, and team performance. I specialize in game concepts, feature design, balancing, progression, monetization and analytics to drive retention and engagement.

I have held leadership roles including Product Owner/General Manager and Lead Game Designer at studios such as Aeria Canada, Influx, Ubisoft/Free, and YoudaGames, and I mentor aspiring designers at Qinshift Academy, combining hands-on production, team mentorship, and strategic product vision.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Lead Mentor

Current

Qinshift Academy

Jan 2014 - Present (11 years 8 months)

Lead mentor for game production and design courses, teaching concept development, prototyping, playtesting and final project delivery since 2014.

Curriculum Development Mentoring Prototyping Playtesting Design Concepts

Lead Game Designer

Future Games of London

Provided overall design direction and team leadership on AAA mobile titles, overseeing mechanics, art approval, and quality control for games including Hungry Shark World.

Team Management Game Design Systems Design Art Direction Feature Design

Lead Game Designer

Influx LTD

Defined product vision and core game systems for blockchain and casual titles, improving gameplay features and advising on tokenomics and community engagement.

Tokenomics Gameplay Balancing Community Strategy Prototyping Playtesting

Product Owner

Aeria CanadaStudio

Led product strategy and delivery for multiple mobile and PC games, managing four remote teams and improving game KPIs to achieve Top 10 US game rankings and fixed release dates.

Product Strategy Project Management Remote Team Leadership Game Design Analytics Monetization Roadmapping Agile)

3D Artist & Lead

Youda Games

Created 3D models, rigs and animations and led the graphic department while contributing to design for titles including Youda Survivor and Governor of Poker.

3D Modeling Rigging Animation Art Direction Game Design Style Definition

Game Designer

Seavus Development

Wrote and iterated game design documents and refined gameplay features and art direction for casual titles such as Yatzy Ultimate and Backgammon Ultimate.

Game Design Documentation Feature Design Art Direction QA Prototyping Casual Games

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Qinshift Academy

Game Design Mentorship

2014 -

Activities and societies: Mentoring, curriculum delivery, prototyping and playtesting guidance

Served as a Game Design Mentor at Qinshift Academy since 2014, teaching game production and design topics and mentoring students.

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Faculty of Philosophy

Philosophy / Humanities

Attended the Faculty of Philosophy at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University; studies related to humanities supporting a background in game design and research.