Director of Game Design, Founders School - $400,000/year USD

Founders School is launching a groundbreaking high school in New York City built on an audacious commitment: students will earn $1 million in profit before they graduate, or their tuition will be fully refunded. Yet our ambition reaches well beyond a single institution. We are creating the world's first business simulation game in which every significant advancement comes from mastering authentic entrepreneurial competencies—pricing strategy, marketing execution, team building, and operational management.

This is the founding leadership position responsible for realizing that vision. You will control the game's creative direction, strategic roadmap, and development organization, reporting directly to Founders School's executive leadership. Your role is to evaluate the foundation we have established, determine where it falls short, and help architect a superior vision before building and guiding the team that delivers it.

The challenge stands apart from anything in the gaming or education industries. You must design a simulation that players actively choose to engage with for extended sessions while demonstrably improving their ability to operate real businesses. Most games achieve entertainment value. Most educational platforms fail to sustain user engagement. We are confident both outcomes can coexist, and we are seeking the individual who can demonstrate it.

You will also contribute to redefining modern game development. Artificial intelligence should inform every phase of your creative workflow—design iteration and systems balancing, rapid prototyping, asset and content generation, playtest data interpretation, and production execution.

If you have aspired to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that moment. If this opportunity resonates with you, we are ready to connect.

What You Will Be Doing

Establish and own the creative vision, core gameplay systems, and strategic product direction for a business simulation game that imparts genuine entrepreneurial skills through intrinsically engaging play.

Recruit and manage a senior game development team, attracting outstanding talent and fostering a culture focused on rapid delivery and continuous iteration.

Collaborate closely with Founders School leadership, educators, and practicing entrepreneurs to convert authentic business principles into captivating game mechanics.

Integrate AI across every phase of the development cycle to expedite design iteration, systems balancing, prototyping, content generation, and production pipelines.

Achieve concrete milestones, including a fully playable vertical slice within 12 months, validated playtests with teenage users, and a robust architecture for future simulation titles.

What You Won’t Be Doing

Developing yet another conventional simulation game that recycles familiar mechanics without meaningful real-world application.

Investing weeks or months drafting exhaustive design documentation at the expense of delivering playable builds.

Operating within a large studio environment where creative direction is encumbered by bureaucratic approval chains.

Treating artificial intelligence as a supplementary productivity enhancement rather than a foundational element of your design methodology.

Producing educational tools that users endure rather than experiences they actively seek out and enjoy.

Director Of Game Design Key Responsibilities
Direct the development of the world's most compelling business simulation game by assembling the team, articulating the vision, and shipping a product that transforms players into more capable entrepreneurs through engaging gameplay.

Success in Your First Year

Within 6 months, you have shipped a playable vertical slice in which players advance by applying real business competencies to complete substantive gameplay objectives.

Initial playtests reveal that teenage participants consistently characterize the experience as enjoyable before realizing the depth of their learning.

You have recruited and integrated the founding development team, establishing a rhythm of regular, high-caliber releases.

Within 12 months, you have deployed a closed beta to over 1,000 players, attained 40%+ retention at 30 days, and implemented a development tempo capable of producing new simulation experiences sustainably.

Basic Requirements

Track record of shipping at least one commercially successful game that resonated deeply with its audience, preferably developed within a team of 10 people or fewer.

Proven experience directing multidisciplinary game development initiatives from initial concept through public launch.

Extensive expertise in designing simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game experiences.

Active daily application of generative AI technologies to accelerate game design and production, with demonstrable recent examples of AI integration in your creative workflow.

Enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and authentic conviction in the importance of building profitable enterprises.

Excellent leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.

Availability to work on-site in New York City.

Authorization to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

Background shipping sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation game titles.

Experience designing products tailored to audiences under 18 years of age.

Experience embedding education or skill acquisition into entertainment-focused products.

Experience collaborating with prominent brands, content creators, or licensed properties.

Demonstrated success scaling a game development team from early concept through successful market launch.

About Founders School
Founders School is a four-year high school built for ambitious students who want to create, build, and solve meaningful problems. The program combines Alpha School's elite academics, real-world experience, and mentorship from world-class entrepreneurs around three commitments to every student: Build a million-dollar business. Identify problems in the world worth solving. Master AI before adults do.

This is a place for people who'd rather build the thing than manage the thing. We're hiring the founding team that builds the dream high school for the most entrepreneurial and ambitious students in the country. Launching in NYC Fall 2026.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5829-US-NewYork-DirectorofGame

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