Associate Product Manager

Schell Games is a highly talented group of artists, programmers, producers, and game designers led by game industry veteran Jesse Schell.  We're the largest full-service education and entertainment game development company in the United States. Since 2002, we've worked with world-class clients and partners to create interactive experiences that engage and inspire players of all ages across all platforms.  Presently, we are focused on virtual reality, augmented reality, location-based experiences, and social games.

Do you like to work on innovative projects in a motivating, friendly atmosphere? Would you agree that games can engage and inspire?

If you answered "YES!" to both questions, you might be a fit for our studio!

ASSOCIATE PRODUCT MANAGER POSITION

The Product Department is composed of people who make sure that our games are reaching their greatest potential by deeply understanding our players, market, and competitors. We use this understanding to strive for product/market fit, representing the player and our studio strategy to internal stakeholders. We are an innovative studio committed to testing out new and emerging technologies, including the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. 

We are seeking an Associate Product Manager who will work closely with the Vice President of Product to ensure our games are meeting their potential through a process of product questions, research, analysis, recommendations, alignment, strategy, prioritization, and goal setting. We are seeking an Associate Product Manager to join us for a 6-9 month fellowship starting in March 2025.

EXPECTATIONS OF FELLOW LEVEL ROLES AT SCHELL GAMES:

• You are building your skills within your discipline and can be relied upon by your team. You are focused on growth, and seek out experts in your craft from within the studio.
• You build relationships with colleagues through openness and trust. You can be relied on in your project role. You seek feedback on how you can improve. 
• You are a capable and responsible team member who fulfills your project responsibilities with appropriate guidance and mentoring. You take advantage of opportunities to learn game development best practices from your colleagues and industry experts.
• You recognize leaders within the studio and have identified traits you wish to emulate.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

• Support development teams with analysis of player insights and market intelligence via market, product, player, and competitor research, using a variety of research methods and tools
• Work with the development team and the playtest coordinator on how to convert playtesting results into product improvements to meet the player’s needs and expectations
• Identify trends, anomalies, and benchmarks in product-specific sales, in-app purchases, player retention, and player engagement data. Create recommendations based on the analysis and communicate these results both verbally and in writing to a diverse group of stakeholders including Vice Presidents, Project Directors, and Product department
• Collaborate with the development team to help to prioritize the product backlog and roadmap
• Articulate the key aspects and unique selling proposition of our products internally to align our teams with market opportunities.
• Help assess the feature sets for our products to ensure they align with market standards and our own studio standards and goals
• Deeply understand and stay up to date on the latest market trends, news, and competitors
• Work with the Vice President of Product, Lead Producer, Project Director, and other team leads to understand their perspective and share your insights
• Advocate on behalf of the player and the strategic goals for the product, making sure that perspective is present in decision-making

REQUIREMENTS:

• Passion for understanding user needs and building products that delight a large audience

• Must be located in the Pittsburgh area for the role and expected to be in the office Tuesday-Thursday, with 3 extra WFH days per month
• Be able to use a VR headset for an extended period of time, supporting over 1 pound on the head and neck area

DESIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE: 

• Classroom or professional experience in product-related work 
• Games experience or other project-based multidisciplinary work in a creative field preferred but not required
• Demonstrated research skills
• Ability to distill complex data into actionable insights
• Excellent organizational abilities
• A natural inclination towards critical and strategic thinking
• Experience working with a team to complete something for someone else

DEI COMMITMENT: 

Our studio is committed to providing an equitable and inclusive work environment that ensures that all applicants and team members are treated with dignity and respect.  We will not tolerate any type of discrimination or harassment directed at any applicant or employee because of their sex, gender, gender identity, race, religion, age, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, veteran, family or parental status or any other protected group characteristic.  This equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotions, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits, and training.

Prohibiting discrimination and harassment is only one part of the equation. “Diversity makes us strong” is more than just something we say.  We value diversity in all forms because it is essential to our success, and we want every member of our team to feel their best creative self.  Our development environment and social culture are based on welcoming, respecting, and celebrating differences among our team members and our players.  We rely on each person to add their own unique skills and perspective to our culture.  Every member of our team is responsible for making the studio as inclusive and equitable as possible.

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Candidate selected for this position will be subject to standard employment verification and criminal background check upon offer of contingent employment.