Senior Game Designer

About This Role

Shaping the game and how the design team organizes and executes its work is the core of this senior game design job. You will own major systems and releases while establishing the frameworks, documentation, review practices, and decision-making processes that keep the team aligned. This is a hands-on role for a designer who can solve difficult design problems, guide the work of others, and protect the long-term health and consistency of the game.

Responsibilities

• Lead set-level and mechanic design for major releases, including prototyping, playtesting, iteration, balance, and final design handoff
• Own the design and evolution of systems, rules, formats, and other major features from concept through implementation
• Establish clear design frameworks, documentation standards, review practices, and workflows that help the team make consistent decisions and execute across multiple releases
• Review design work, provide actionable feedback, and mentor other designers while remaining deeply involved in hands-on design
• Partner with product, creative, development, and playtesting teams to resolve tradeoffs and maintain alignment from early concept through launch
• Identify systemic design risks, player-experience concerns, and long-term balance issues, then drive solutions informed by testing and player behavior

Requirements

• 5 or more years of professional game design experience, including substantial work on trading card games, collectible card games, strategy games, or other systems-driven titles
• A record of owning complex game systems or major releases and carrying them from early design through production
• Experience creating or improving design processes, documentation, and team practices that support high-quality work at scale
• Strong understanding of systems design, rules architecture, balance, game economies, metagame health, and long-term content development
• Ability to lead through influence, give clear feedback, and guide other designers without stepping away from hands-on design work
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, sound design judgment, and comfort working across disciplines in a fast-moving studio environment

Important Details

• Schedule: All employees of Fanatics TCG are expected to work onsite in our Seattle office five days per week

About the Company

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform, igniting the passions of global sports fans and maximizing the presence and reach for its hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming. Fanatics TCG is a new Seattle-based trading card game studio within the Fanatics Collectibles family, founded by industry veterans with a long-term mandate to build enduring franchises that live across tabletop, digital, community, and culture. The company has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans, a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Its more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.