Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.
Studio Creative Director - Next Games, A Netflix Game Studio
From games on TV to mobile and web, Next Games is a Netflix first-party studio that develops approachable games to entertain a diverse, global audience.
We design games that Netflix members can enjoy every day as part of their subscription. Our games released on Netflix to date include TV games Boggle Party, Pictionary Game Night, Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends, and Underwatermelon, as well as Netflix Puzzled, available on mobile devices and on tudum.com.
We proudly combine our Finnish game development culture with Netflix's global entertainment culture, embracing the strengths of both and empowering our talented and diverse teams to deliver their best work yet.
The Role
The studio is growing, and we’re looking for an ambitious, experienced leader to head our creative and product development across a portfolio of approachable, accessible TV (cloud) and mobile games.
This senior leadership role is focused on overseeing a portfolio of game projects, ensuring their creative direction and quality bar align with business goals, market trends, and long-term growth, working closely with other Studio Leadership Team members and broader Netflix.
You will operate at both the high-level strategic vision and creative direction for the studio and hands-on product oversight, guiding multiple projects from early concept through launch and live operations. You are the key guardian of quality across the studio’s core creative disciplines’ output: Game and Product Design, Art, and Audio, and a catalyst for new game incubation efforts.
This role reports to the Studio Managing Director and is a member of the Studio Leadership Team.
What You’ll Do
Define and drive portfolio strategy
- Articulate the studio’s overall creative portfolio strategy, aligned with Netflix’s broader games strategy.
- Ensure the creative direction of the portfolio supports business objectives (engagement, retention, growth) and reflects current and emerging market opportunities.
Oversee a portfolio of titles
- Lead multiple TV (cloud) and mobile titles’ creative direction from incubation through live operations.
- Continuously evaluate project health, quality, and trajectory, making clear recommendations on investment, greenlighting, pivoting, or sunsetting.
Lead and inspire core creative disciplines
- Lead, mentor, and further shape the Game and Product Design, Art, and Audio disciplines.
- Champion collaborative, holistic and player-focused creative practices and raise the quality bar across all disciplines.
- Support new game incubation and experimentation, enabling rapid learning and iteration.
Partner across the studio and Netflix
- Work closely with Studio Leadership, Game and Creative Discipline Directors on creative direction, portfolio’s creative assessment, and product roadmapping.
- Collaborate with production, engineering, data, marketing, and other partners to ensure alignment on goals, timelines, and resources.
- Represent the studio’s creative vision within the broader Netflix Games organization.
Build scalable ways of working
- Define how creative work is structured and supported in a growing, multi-project environment.
- Enable high autonomy for teams while establishing the right level of guidelines, standards, and decision-making clarity.
Experience We’re Looking For
Proven portfolio leadership
- Track record of setting and executing a consistent product and creative vision across multiple game projects or a portfolio of games.
- Experience in managing the creative direction of a slate of titles at different stages of the lifecycle (incubation, production, launch, live ops).
Leadership in fast-paced, scaling environments
- Demonstrated experience leading and scaling creative teams and products in fast-moving, highly dynamic settings.
- Background in building and managing high-performing multi-disciplinary teams.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
- Experience in working closely with creative, technical, and production partners.
- Comfortable navigating a developer–publisher environment and balancing the needs of both sides.
Deep product & market understanding
- Strong sense of what high-quality games look and feel like in today’s market, informed by both hands-on experience and creative judgment.
- Experience using data, KPIs, and player insights to inform creative and product decisions.
- Up-to-date knowledge of industry trends, player preferences, and the competitive landscape, ideally in mobile and/or TV / cloud gaming.
Skills & Qualifications
- Strong, well-rounded understanding of game development, especially core creative disciplines (game and service design, art, audio), and solid familiarity with engineering and production.
- Deep understanding of the game development lifecycle from incubation to live operations, including how to evolve products post-launch.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to convey complex ideas clearly to creative, technical, and executive audiences.
- Proven ability to build and maintain strong cross-functional partnerships and effective workflows.
- Strategic thinker who balances creative ambition with product, player, and business realities.
- Exceptional leadership and influencing skills with the ability to inspire, align, and motivate diverse teams without relying on hierarchy.
**We aim high here at Next Games and will ask you to do the same. In exchange, you’ll be part of a team that is great to work with, dedicated, and passionate about what we do. **
Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.