Studio Creative Director

Company Description

Smoking Gun Interactive, a Keywords Studio, is an industry-leading game development studio founded in 2007 by award-winning industry veterans. SGI is fearless in creating IP and boldly partners with renowned brands to develop a wide range of world-class, immersive titles and interactive experiences that resonate with strategy gamers worldwide and entertain millions of casual players every day.

Job Overview

As a passionate, experienced and visionary Studio Creative Director with Smoking Gun Interactive (SGI), you are the driving creative force behind our entire portfolio of games. This role will be the primary architect of new game concepts, responsible for generating innovative, cohesive, and highly marketable game ideas that fit constraints; then ensures alignment across design, art, narrative, and user experience, and maintains a consistently high bar for quality and player experience.

You will confidently pitch, clearly communicate, and advocate for your game concepts to external clients, internal development teams, and our Studio Head, ensuring everyone is aligned and inspired by the creative vision.

This is a permanent full-time position based in our Downtown Vancouver office. Candidates must be currently located or willing relocate to the Greater Vancouver Area with the expectation to be able to come into the office as needed and eligible to work in Canada.

Requirements

In this role, you will:

• Partner with the Studio Head on product strategy;
• Create and pitch new game concepts to the studio head and clients that are cohesive, innovative, within constraints and meet market and financial outcomes;
• Partner closely with Production and other disciplines to balance creative ambition with scope, schedule, and resources
• Communicate the creative vision and inspire the team to create games they can be proud of;
• Ensure a cohesive player experience across gameplay, art style, narrative, UX, and audio;
• Champion originality, clarity, emotional impact and audience focus in all creative decisions.
• Foster a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing creative culture;
• Provide clear feedback, direction, and support to help teams do their best work;
• Review designs, prototypes, builds, art, scripts, and UX flows regularly.
• Participate in playtests and provide actionable, player-focused feedback.
• Contribute directly where needed (concepting, vision decks, narrative beats, high-level design guidance);
• Collaborate with Studio Head and Studio leadership on studio strategy;
• Maintain a consistent quality bar across all creative outputs;
• Ensure player experience, accessibility, and usability are considered from early development through launch;
• Identify creative risks early and guide teams toward strong solutions.

To be successful in this role, you must have:

• 10+ years of experience in a Creative Leadership role on mobile, PC or console products;
• 4+ years as a Creative Director with at least one game conceptualized, shipped and commercially successful;
• Taken games all the way from initial concept to live operations and live support;
• An ego-free approach to leadership. You know how to champion an idea while remaining receptive to feedback from the Studio Head, clients, and your production partners who manage the low-level constraints;
• A strong pragmatic streak. You know how to shape a massive idea into a scope that fits the studio's actual capacity without losing its creative spark;
• A deep understanding of the gaming market, current trends, player psychology, and how to design targeted experiences that stand out;
• Masterful communication and presentation skills, with proven experience pitching and 'selling' game concepts to internal teams, business-minded clients, and studio leadership;
• Expertise in both Premium and Freemium game mechanics, KPI’s, and monetization strategies;
• Ability to do market research and industry analysis / SWOT;
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure, short timelines and handle multiple tasks;
• A naturally self-driven demeanor, taking initiative when needed and demonstrated ability to work independently;
• Willingness to push the envelope and innovate within game parameters.
• Skilled in rapid prototype independently;
• Experience mentoring and improving staff skills is a plus.

Benefits

• 15 days vacation leave
• 5 paid days personal leave
• 7 paid sick days
• 5 paid parental leave days
• Life Insurance & Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• Dependent Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability (LTD)
• Extended Healthcare Benefit
• Dental Care
• RRSP/DPSP matching
• Training & Development

Salary Range: $150,000 - $180,000 CAD

Smoking Gun Interactive is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran’s status, age or disability.

Keywords Studios is dedicated to following a well-established Equal Opportunities Policy. We endeavor to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY

By providing your information in this application, you understand that we will collect and process your information in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. For more information, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice at https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/applicant-privacy-notice.

Role Information: EN
Studio: Smoking Gun
Location: Americas, Canada, Vancouver
Area of Work: Game Development
Service: Create
Employment Type: Full Time
Working Pattern: Remote, Hybrid