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

Founders School is an ambitious new high school opening in New York City with an unprecedented guarantee: students will produce $1 million in profit before they graduate, or their tuition will be refunded. But our ambitions reach well beyond one school. We're creating the first business simulation game in which every significant advancement requires mastering authentic entrepreneurial competencies—pricing strategy, marketing execution, team building, and operational management.

This is the founding leadership position that will define that vision. You'll control the game's artistic direction, product roadmap, and engineering team while collaborating directly with Founders School's executive leadership. Your role is to evaluate the framework we've built, determine where it falls short, and help architect a stronger vision before directing the team that executes it.

The problem is unprecedented in both gaming and education. You must design a simulation that players genuinely choose to engage with for ten consecutive hours while demonstrably improving their ability to operate a real enterprise. Most games achieve entertainment value. Most educational platforms fail to sustain engagement. We maintain that both outcomes are achievable, and we're seeking the individual who can demonstrate it.

You'll also help establish how contemporary games are developed. AI must be integrated into every phase of your creative workflow—from initial design exploration and systems balancing to rapid prototyping, asset generation, playtest interpretation, and production execution.

If you've aspired to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that moment. If this resonates with you, we want to speak with you.

What You Will Be Doing

• Establish and control the creative vision, core gameplay systems, and product trajectory for a business simulation game that imparts genuine entrepreneurial capabilities through deeply engaging play.
• Assemble and direct a senior game development team, recruiting exceptional professionals and fostering a culture that delivers rapidly and iterates continuously.
• Collaborate with Founders School leadership, curriculum designers, and business practitioners to convert authentic business principles into captivating gameplay mechanics.
• Integrate AI across the entire development pipeline to expedite design iteration, systems balancing, prototype construction, content production, and workflow optimization.
• Achieve concrete milestones, including a functional vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtest results, and an extensible architecture for subsequent simulation titles.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Designing another formulaic simulation game with conventional mechanics and minimal real-world application.
• Investing months in design documentation instead of releasing interactive prototypes.
• Operating within a large studio environment where creative choices are constrained by approval hierarchies.
• Positioning AI as an auxiliary efficiency tool rather than a fundamental element of your creative methodology.
• Developing educational products that players endure rather than experiences they actively seek out.

Game Systems Director Key Responsibilities

Direct the development of the world's most captivating business simulation game by assembling the team, establishing the vision, and shipping a product that transforms players into more capable entrepreneurs through gameplay.

Success in Your First Year

• Within 6 months, you've shipped a playable vertical slice in which players advance through authentic business competencies by completing substantive gameplay objectives.
• Initial playtests demonstrate that teenagers reliably characterize the game as enjoyable before realizing the depth of their learning.
• You've recruited and integrated the founding game development team, maintaining consistent, high-caliber releases.
• Within 12 months, you've deployed a closed beta exceeding 1,000 participants, attained 40%\+ 30-day retention, and implemented a development rhythm capable of sustainably delivering new simulation experiences.

Basic Requirements

• Track record shipping at least one commercially successful game that players authentically embraced, preferably within a team of 10 or fewer.
• Proven experience directing cross-functional game development from initial concept through market launch.
• Comprehensive expertise crafting simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game experiences.
• Active daily application of generative AI technologies to enhance game design and development workflows, with demonstrable recent examples of AI integration in your process.
• Enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and sincere conviction in the importance of building profitable enterprises.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.
• Commitment to working on-site in New York City.
• Authorization to work in the US without sponsorship.

Nice-to-have Requirements

• Background shipping sandbox, tycoon, builder, management, or simulation game titles.
• Experience developing products for audiences under 18\.
• Experience embedding education or competency development within entertainment offerings.
• Experience collaborating with prominent brands, content creators, or licensed intellectual property.
• Demonstrated history scaling a game team from initial 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. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

Working with us

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $200 USD/hour, which equates to $400,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult www.crossover.com/help-and-faqs for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5829-US-Yonkers-GameSystemsDir