Senior Manager, Game Design

Who we are

At Fortis Games we aspire to make great games that bring people together while redefining how game companies work. We believe in building a sense of belonging through our games, their communities, and how we operate and treat each other. Through our game communities, we will create powerful connections and lasting memories. We will foster a culture of diversity, equity and belonging where together our diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds impact the games we make.

We are an early but mighty organization with a leadership team of game industry veterans. There are many opportunities for you to have a big impact on the products we'll be making as well as the overall direction of the company. If you're passionate about tackling difficult problems with direct and thoughtful communication and team first mentality, we may be the right place for you.

About the role

Fortis is on a mission to create games where players truly belong — and our newest title, Twilight Towers, is now in soft launch. As Senior Manager, Game Design, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of the game as it moves toward global release. You'll combine hands-on design leadership with strategic oversight, guiding a multidisciplinary team to build features, systems, and experiences that connect fun, depth, and business performance.

Partnering closely with the Game Director, you'll transform high-level goals into clear, actionable design and product plans — owning major pillars of the game from concept to live operations. You'll write specs, tune systems, mentor designers, and raise the quality bar across the team's output. Whether balancing the economy, refining live events, or designing new player experiences, you'll be accountable for delivering impact that players feel and the business measures.

This is an opportunity to lead from the front — blending creativity and analytical thinking in a live, fast-moving environment where your craft, leadership, and decisions will directly shape the future of Twilight Towers.

What you'll achieve

You will partner with the Game Director and other creative leadership to lead the design of game features, systems, and pillars by:

• Distilling high-level objectives and vision into clear, concise, and thorough design & product specifications to cross-functional teams.
• Setting the goals, driving the direction, and holding the quality bar for a cross-discipline subteam of game developers.
• Leveling up the design output of the team by providing design direction and feedback on the team's output.
• Managing and growing designers through coaching and mentorship. 
• Coordinating results across disciplines, pods, and leadership levels within the team.
• Building expertise in our genre, target audience, and feature set, and sharing learnings across the team and company.

What you'll need to be successful

• Strong design sensibilities across a range of domains.  Fluency in systems, content, and experiential design, with deep expertise in at least one area.
• A firm understanding of fundamental design principles, metagame systems, game economies, and player psychology that enables you to design from first principles.
• Holistic view of the product and business; being able to problem solve against target KPIs with specific system designs.
• Ability to synthesize feedback from team members, user playtests, and other validation efforts into actionable product insights and rapidly iterate on designs.
• Clear communication and vision setting to align others around your objectives, build positive momentum, and resolve conflict when necessary.
• Proven experience in games as a service and live operations – demonstrating a clear vision of excellence and the ability to establish effective design processes, workflows, and tooling.
• Strong leadership and management skills, adept at developing design teams through mentorship and remote management.
• Ability to drive impact and get things done while balancing leadership and management responsibilities. 
• Extensive experience with merge or tower defense genres preferred.

Why join us

There are many reasons to join us, but here are a few:

• We strongly believe we are changing how games studios operate and at the core of what we do is making great games that create a connected community
• We're not just about making Games Where You Belong. We're also about building communities where our people belong. That's why Fortis is a thriving environment that celebrates diversity, embraces inclusivity, and fosters growth.
  
• Build and grow with a seasoned team of accomplished talent who have left an impactful mark in their disciplines, both in and out of gaming
  

Fortis is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.