Senior Release Manager

Private Division is a developer-focused publisher that partners with the finest creative talent in the video game industry, empowering studios to develop the games that they are passionate about creating, while providing the support that they need to make their titles critically and commercially successful on a global scale. The Label publishes the Kerbal Space Program franchise, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey from Panache Digital Games, The Outer Worlds from Obsidian Entertainment, OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome from Roll7, After Us from Piccolo Studio, Penny’s Big Breakaway from Evening Star and more. Private Division has future unannounced projects in development with Moon Studios, Yellow Brick Games, Wētā Workshop, Game Freak, and other esteemed independent developers. The Label publishes the physical retail edition of Hades from Supergiant Games on PlayStation® and Xbox consoles. Private Division continues to build its internal studio capacity, with Roll7 and Intercept Games as internal developers for the Label. Private Division is headquartered in New York City with offices in Seattle, Las Vegas, and Munich.

THE CHALLENGE:

Our Release Management team is looking for a Senior Game Release Manager to be involved in releasing our games, updates, and other content on all supported platforms. You will work with teams across the Private Division label and Take-Two (Production, QA, Marketing, Ops), and our external development studios to oversee and coordinate highly complex timelines for certification, age ratings, and releases. You will act as a primary point of contact for game releases and age ratings, and communicate status on all issues related to these releases to help ensure smooth, successful launches. You will also work with external developers and first party partners to coordinate the setup of products and ensure that all launches go as planned. We are looking for someone who can apply significant experience to define, guide, and create team processes, pipelines, and deliveries.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Support the Release Management leadership team, helping develop end-to-end timelines and plans for all releases in our portfolio (full games, updates, add-on content, IAP, etc.)
• Oversee the tracking of tasks and deadlines involved in a release (game submissions, patch submissions, marketing materials submissions, age ratings submissions).
• Drive the submission process for age ratings on assigned projects.
• Collaborate with our developer partners, the marketing team, the QA team, and the production team.
• Clearly communicate submission issues, their impact, and develop action plans through partner teamwork.
• Coordinate and educate Associate Release Managers, RMs, producers, and other stakeholders on Release Management processes.
• For physical releases, provide support to the marketing team and producer by tracking packaging approvals, communicating any blockers, vetting the manufacturing timelines against the production timeline, etc.
• Identify risks in advance and drive the team towards successful resolution before the risks turn into incidents affecting the team or players.
• Create and maintain a resourcing plan that accommodates the release management needs of the label and our developers.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience shipping 2-3 full commercial game ship cycles
• Focused and composed under pressure.
• Strong understanding of the console SDK development tools and release processes for multiple platforms.
• Excellent knowledge of console certification requirements and age ratings submissions, with experience handling submissions for PEGI and/or ESRB.
• Highly adaptable to a variety of situations and curious about potential improvements.
• Flexibility and willingness to work odd hours as needed to support our development studios around the world and in multiple time zones.
• Proficiency with current Microsoft consumer level products.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in both verbal and written skills with team members.
• Ability to coordinate with multiple teams across the studios and effectively prioritize tasks.
• Ability to quickly solve or seek the solution to any problem in a dynamic and ever-changing environment.
• An enthusiasm and passion for games and the games industry, with a general understanding of the game development and release process.

NICE TO HAVE SKILLS:

• Experience shipping a physical release, understanding of the manufacturing timeline.
• Previous experience in QA and/or game development is a plus.

The pay range for this position in Washington at the start of employment is expected to be between $80,000 and $120,000 per Year. However, base pay offered is