Simulation Game Director $400,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
Founders School is a radical new high school launching in New York City with an ambitious promise: students will generate $1 million in profit before graduation or we'll refund their tuition. But our mission extends far beyond a single campus. We're building the first business simulation game where every meaningful upgrade is earned by mastering real entrepreneurial skills like pricing, marketing, hiring, and operations.
This is the founding leadership role behind that vision. You'll own the game's creative direction, product strategy, and development team while working directly with Founders School's leadership. Your job is to take the concept we've developed, identify what isn't good enough, and help shape a better vision before leading the team that brings it to life.
The challenge is unlike anything else in games or education. You must build a simulation that players genuinely want to play for ten hours straight while making them measurably better at running a real business. Most games succeed at entertainment. Most educational software struggles to keep people engaged. We believe both are possible, and we're looking for the person who can prove it.
You'll also help define how modern games are built. AI should be part of every stage of your creative process, from design exploration and balancing to prototyping, content generation, playtest analysis, and production.
If you've always wanted to create the game you'll be remembered for, this is your opportunity. If that excites you, we want to hear from you.
What you will be doing
• Define and own the creative vision, gameplay systems, and product direction for a business simulation game that teaches real entrepreneurial skills through genuinely engaging gameplay.
• Build and lead a senior game development team, hiring exceptional talent and creating a culture that ships quickly and continuously improves.
• Partner with Founders School leadership, educators, and entrepreneurs to translate real-world business principles into compelling gameplay mechanics.
• Use AI throughout the development lifecycle to accelerate design, balancing, prototyping, content creation, and production workflows.
• Deliver measurable milestones, including a playable vertical slice within 12 months, successful teen playtests, and a scalable foundation for future simulation games.
What you will NOT be doing
• Building another derivative simulation game with familiar mechanics and little real-world impact.
• Spending months writing design documents instead of shipping playable experiences.
• Working inside a large studio where creative decisions are slowed by layers of approval.
• Treating AI as an optional productivity tool instead of a core part of your creative process.
• Creating educational software that players tolerate instead of games they genuinely love.
Key responsibilities
Lead the creation of the world's most engaging business simulation game by building the team, defining the vision, and delivering a product that makes players better entrepreneurs through play.
Success in Your First Year
• Within 6 months, you've delivered a playable vertical slice where players progress through real business skills by completing meaningful gameplay challenges.
• Early playtests show that teenagers consistently describe the game as fun before recognizing how much they're learning.
• You've built and onboarded the founding game development team, with regular, high-quality releases.
• Within 12 months, you've launched a closed beta with more than 1,000 players, achieved 40%+ 30-day retention, and established a development cadence capable of shipping new simulation experiences sustainably.
Candidate requirements
• Experience shipping at least one commercially successful game that players genuinely loved, ideally on a team of 10 or fewer.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary game development from concept through launch.
• Deep expertise designing simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management games.
• Daily hands-on use of generative AI tools to accelerate game design and development, with the ability to demonstrate recent examples of how you've used AI in your workflow.
• Passion for entrepreneurship and a genuine belief in the value of building profitable businesses.
• Strong leadership, communication, and hiring skills.
• Willingness to work on-site in New York City.
• Able to work in the US without sponsorship.
Nice to have
• Experience shipping sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation games.
• Experience designing products for players under 18.
• Experience integrating education or skill development into entertainment products.
• Experience working with high-profile brands, creators, or licensed intellectual property.
• Track record of scaling a game team from early concept through successful launch.
Applying for a role? Here’s what to expect.
Crossover's skill assessment process combines innovative AI power with decades of human research, to take the guesswork, human bias, and pointless filters out of recruiting high-performing teams.
Chat-style
screening interview.
Cognitive 
aptitude test.
Prove real-world 
job skills.
Interview with the hiring manager.
Pass
proctored test.
Accept job offer.
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The Olympics of work
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Premium pay for premium talent
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Shortlist by skills, not bias
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