Principal Game Designer

Who we are

At Fortis Games we aspire to make great games that bring people together while redefining how game companies work. We believe in building a sense of belonging through our games, their communities, and how we operate and treat each other. Through our game communities, we will create powerful connections and lasting memories. We will foster a culture of diversity, equity and belonging where together our diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds impact the games we make.

We are an early but mighty organization with a leadership team of game industry veterans. There are many opportunities for you to have a big impact on the products we'll be making as well as the overall direction of the company. If you're passionate about tackling difficult problems with direct and thoughtful communication and team first mentality, we may be the right place for you.

About the role

You will drive the product vision for a new game concept from ideation and prototyping through production and launch. The ideal candidate will also help build, lead, and nurture the growth of a team of talented Product Managers and Game Designers and share learnings with the broader product team and contribute to the overall development of our product strategy and portfolio of games.

What you'll achieve

• You will identify an opportunity space and work with product leadership to build a game concept that clearly articulates how we can win in this space.
• You will lead the prototyping efforts to prove out the concept and find its best expression by:
  • Carrying the product vision and defining the game design pillars that guide the team’s major decisions
  • Driving discussions and maintaining alignment on the team as you navigate through complex and ambiguous design spaces
  • Ultimately architecting a set of systems that meet your prototyping goals and give us strong conviction in the commercial viability of the game
• Help build and mentor a highly effective and engaged product team who push themselves and one another to their fullest potential.
• Become an expert in the opportunity spaces, genres, and game mechanics you explore during prototyping and share your learnings with the broader product team to advance our collective knowledge.
• You will develop an independent design philosophy that upholds the key tenets of Fortis’ approach to products while adding your own unique approach to thinking about emerging patterns in service design.

What you'll need to be successful

• A holistic view of game systems and the downstream effects of all design decisions throughout both the product and player lifecycle.
• A firm understanding of fundamental design principles, metagame systems, game economies, and player psychology that allows you to design from first principles.
• Ability to communicate your creative vision in a way that inspires and motivates teams.
• Ability to articulate the nuances of abstract concepts and how they apply to complex, interrelated systems.
• Ability to synthesize feedback from team members, user playtests, and other validation efforts into product insights and rapidly iterate on designs.
• A razor-sharp focus on what matters and the discipline to ruthlessly prioritize against it.
• Extensive knowledge of games as a service and live operations – you know what good looks like and can build efficient design processes, workflows, and tooling to enable it.
• Enthusiasm for directing, mentoring, and otherwise elevating the people around you to do their best work.
• A natural curiosity and eagerness to learn - we believe this is essential to our ability to stay ahead of the market and value this over years of experience.

We expect our leaders to continue being students of their craft and the game spaces they’re working in. You should be educated on the latest trends and have a strong perspective on how they relate to our current and future projects

Why join us

There are many reasons to join us, but here are a few:

• We strongly believe we are changing how games studios operate and at the core of what we do is making great games that create a connected community
• We're not just about making Games Where You Belong. We're also about building communities where our people belong. That's why Fortis is a thriving environment that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusivity, and fosters growth.
• Build and grow with a seasoned team of accomplished talent who have left an impactful mark in their disciplines, both in and out of gaming

Fortis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.