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Executive Producer
at Popcap
Shanghai, China
PopCap Games is looking for an experienced Executive Producer to lead production in PopCap’s 70+ person Shanghai game studio, with responsibility for delivering free-to-play online and mobile games targeted at the Chinese market that meet PopCap’s high bar for quality, fun, AND an effective business model. Success depends on effective leadership of the creative and production resources at the heart of our development teams, and close collaboration with the online operations group responsible for day-to-day operation and monetization of these games.
This is a challenging role, with the opportunity for significant impact. As a studio executive, the Executive Producer is part of the team that grows and shapes the structure and culture of the organization, including key hiring decisions, production processes, and employee training. The Executive Producer will need to establish strong relationships and lines of communication between the production team and other parts of the organization, both in Shanghai and throughout the rest of PopCap’s global operation.
This role also plays an important part in the business planning process, working closely with the Head of Studio, Lead Game Designer, Engineering Manager, Art Manager, and other studio and publishing executives to plan and evaluate projects on an ever-changing product roadmap. A passion for making games and a critical eye for fun and quality are an absolute must.
China is a large and strategic market for PopCap, especially given the strength of the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, and the Shanghai studio has full creative control over its own products in order to fully exploit the unique opportunities and unique challenges that exist within China.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities:
Assemble and lead a world-class team of producers within the PopCap Shanghai studio. Recruit new talent, and coach and grow existing talent.
Collaborate closely with the other studio leads, operations team, and publishing executives to develop and manage a roadmap of current and future projects that line up with long-term goals of PopCap. Help develop business plans and maintain revenue forecasts for new and existing projects.
Establish a healthy creative culture that engages in open, honest peer review and feedback, appropriate creative risk-taking, and a never-ending pursuit of quality, fun, and market success. Seek out and act on constructive feedback generated through reviews and play-tests from both internal and external sources.
Work with engineering, art, design, and QA to evaluate and improve production processes and tools to find the right balance of creativity, quality, and productivity across the entire product life cycle, from high concept and draft game design documents, through early playable prototypes, to launch and live on-going game operations.
Establish strong lines of communication between development teams, online game operations, executive staff, and other studios within PopCap.
Help build excitement about games in development within the team and to the wider PopCap community.
Experience and Qualifications
7+ years of proven leadership in game development and production, with experience establishing vision, values, and strategic directions that drive the success of a creative organization.
Experience working within an “agile” development process of rapid iteration.
Deep understanding of the game development process, and an appreciation for the culture of a creative organization
Excellent analytical, coordination, and organizational skills.Demonstrated ability to work in a closely knit team environment with artists, designers, programmers, testers, and product managers.
Excellent understanding of the unique challenges posed by building and operating free-to-play, micro-transaction games delivered as services.
Broad knowledge of the Chinese game industry, with a capacity for continual learning and growth.
Highly self-disciplined and self-motivated, with a minimal need for guidance and support.
Ability to multitask and be flexible about changing role requirements.
A passion for games, especially casual games.
Willingness to relocate to Shanghai, and fluency in both Chinese and English.
Comfort working within a western organization is required, one which believes in empowering individuals, delegating decision making, pushing down responsibility, and fostering an open environment where honest dialog and debate can take place.
A technical degree, such as in computer science or a related field, is preferred but not required.
Benefits Package
PopCap offers a very competitive benefits package that includes:
Competitive Base Salary
Profit Share Bonus Scheme tied to performance
Paid vacations
Competitive benefits
Stock options.
Opportunity to work in a rapidly growing global company, with interactions with colleagues from around the world.
Company Profile
PopCap Games is one of the world’s leading developers and publishers of casual games. Its portfolio of top-rated titles includes Bejeweled, Zuma, Chuzzle, Peggle, and its newest hit, Plants vs. Zombies. Founded in 2000, PopCap currently has more than 500 employees worldwide, with offices in Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, Dublin, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul. Acquired by Electronic Arts in August, 2011, PopCap is part of the Electronic Arts Interactive group, alongside other groups such as Playfish, Chilingo, and EA Mobile.
PopCap’s Shanghai office, located in downtown Shanghai, is responsible for extending PopCap’s leadership role into China, one of PopCap’s fastest growing markets world-wide.