Creative Director

The Niantic LA Games Team is seeking a Creative Director to help lead the studio in creating a cutting-edge experience for AR wearables. In this role you’ll hold the vision for a brand new game, working closely with the studio leadership team to bring it to life.

You will use your expertise to develop and champion a world-class mixed reality game experience. Alongside the Senior Producer, you will lead a team from Concept through to Production and Live Operations and drive the project forward. You’ll also be responsible for presenting the vision and strategy of the game to senior partners at Niantic. As a hardworking, inspiring and inclusive leader, you will help to grow the Niantic LA Games Studio and cement the company's position as a front runner in Augmented Reality games and tech.

Responsibilities

• Define, communicate and be accountable for the creative vision of the project including the core loop, IP development, social mechanics and monetization features.
• Ensure the project backlog is well-defined and understood.
• Work with the design department to define and drive design standards for the team and create robust design documentation.
• Foster positive relationships with other senior leaders at Niantic to champion the team's needs, and deliver on the vision.
• Distill the business’s strategic and commercial goals, ensuring they are reflected in product and organizational decisions.
• Take the lead on producing pitch materials for internal presentations.
• Collaborate and align with Marketing to build commercial analysis, shape forecasts and drive successful marketing and UA campaigns.
• Provide strong leadership and career mentorship to support the creative goals and ambitions of the design team members.
• Collaborate with cross-functional team members and stakeholders, including regular and reliable attendance and participation in meetings.
• Required in-office 3 days on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Qualifications

• An experienced Creative Director or Design Director with a proven track record in creating and maintaining design direction, and bringing it to fruition.
• Strong understanding of the headset and wearables landscape, validated by commercially successful products.
• AV/VR/MR games experience in all production phases from Concept to Live Operations, having shipped at least one title as Creative Director or Lead Game Designer.
• Demonstrated experience in building, leading and mentoring teams.
• Adept at providing the support and space for more junior contributors to work with appropriate autonomy while creating a coherent design that aligns with your vision.
• Strong at providing feedback that empowers team members to produce their best work.
• Experience communicating a game vision to teams and partners.
• Skilled at developing productive relationships with peers and senior leaders, enabling you to work through complex situations to drive projects forward.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on clearly explaining reasoning behind decisions.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced hybrid environment and handle stress appropriately and/or ability to solve practical problems and be sufficiently adaptable to handle dynamic situations with little advance notice. 
• Experience working on cross-functional teams with ability to communicate effectively through written and verbal communications, including synchronous interactions with others.

Plus If...

• Experience with technical implementation, huge plus if in Unity.
• Knowledge of products in competitive areas in similar genres to Niantic's portfolio.

The total compensation package for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $168,000 - $196,000 + bonus + equity + benefits.

Individual pay within this salary range is determined by work location and additional factors, including assessed job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process. An overview of benefit offerings for your location can be found on the careers page.

Join the Niantic team!

Niantic is the world’s leading AR technology company, sparking creative and engaging journeys in the real world. Our products inspire outdoor exploration, exercise, and meaningful social interaction. 

Originally formed at Google in 2011, we became an independent company in 2015. Some of our current consumer titles include pioneering global-control game Ingress, record-breaking AR game Pokémon GO, and Pikmin Bloom. In November 2021, we launched our developer platform, Lightship, enabling creators to build immersive AR experiences around the globe. Our basketball universe has come to life, as we recently launched one of the most innovative sports games ever, in partnership with the NBA. NBA ALL-World is now live and playable globally!  Niantic is an Equal Opportunity employer. 

We believe that cultivating a workplace where our people are supported and included is essential to creating great products our community will love. Our mission emphasizes seeking and hiring diverse voices, including those who are traditionally underrepresented in the technology industry, and we consider this to be one of the most important values we hold close.

Niantic is a hybrid first company. We believe that in person interaction and collaboration fosters creativity, a sense of community, and is critical to our future success as a company. Our hybrid work schedules allow for a mix of remote and in-office work.

We're a hard-working, fun, and exciting group who value intellectual curiosity and a passion for problem-solving! We have growing offices located in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Bellevue, Los Angeles, Kansas, New York, Miami, London, Tokyo, Hamburg, Hyderabad, and Zurich. #LI-HYBRID