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

Founders School is launching a new high school in New York City built on an audacious guarantee: students will earn $1 million in profit before they graduate, or their tuition will be refunded. Yet our ambitions reach well beyond a single school. We are creating the first business simulation game in which every significant advancement comes from mastering authentic entrepreneurial capabilities—pricing, marketing, hiring, and operations.

This is the founding leadership position that will bring that vision to life. You will control the game's creative direction, product strategy, and development organization while collaborating directly with Founders School's executive team. Your role is to evaluate the concept we have built, determine where it falls short, and help craft a superior vision before assembling and leading the team that executes it.

The opportunity is unlike any other in gaming or 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 company. Most games achieve entertainment. Most educational platforms fail to sustain engagement. We are convinced both outcomes are achievable, and we are searching for the individual who can deliver the proof.

You will also help establish how contemporary games are developed. AI should be integrated into every phase of your creative workflow—from design exploration and systems balancing to prototyping, asset generation, playtest evaluation, and production management.

If you have always aspired to build the game that defines your legacy, this is that moment. If that resonates with you, we want to connect.

What You Will Be Doing

• Establish and control the creative vision, gameplay architecture, and product roadmap for a business simulation game that imparts genuine entrepreneurial competencies through captivating gameplay.
• Assemble and manage a senior game development organization, recruiting outstanding talent and fostering a culture oriented toward rapid iteration and continuous refinement.
• Collaborate with Founders School leadership, educators, and business practitioners to convert real-world commercial principles into engaging gameplay systems.
• Integrate AI across the entire development process to expedite design, balancing, prototyping, content generation, and production operations.
• Achieve concrete milestones, including a playable vertical slice within 12 months, validated teen playtests, and a scalable architecture for additional simulation experiences.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Developing another conventional simulation game with recycled mechanics and negligible real-world relevance.
• Devoting months to documentation instead of delivering playable prototypes.
• Operating within a large studio environment where creative choices are hindered by bureaucratic approval chains.
• Regarding AI as a peripheral productivity enhancement rather than a fundamental element of your creative methodology.
• Producing educational software that players endure rather than experiences they authentically enjoy.

Game Director Key Responsibilities

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

Success in Your First Year

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

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 multidisciplinary game development from initial concept through public launch.
• Deep specialization in designing simulation, sandbox, systems-driven, strategy, or management game experiences.
• Daily practical application of generative AI tools to accelerate game design and production, with capacity to present recent examples demonstrating how you have incorporated AI into your process.
• Enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and authentic conviction in the importance of building profitable enterprises.
• Robust leadership, communication, and talent acquisition capabilities.
• Availability to work 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 designing entertainment products for audiences under 18.
• Experience embedding education or skill acquisition into entertainment offerings.
• Experience collaborating with high-profile brands, creators, or licensed intellectual property.
• Demonstrated history scaling a game team from early-stage 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-Paterson-GameDirector