Job Description

Overview The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. Independent journalism is at the heart of all we do. Our world-renowned newsroom reports from nearly 160 countries, with a focus on how readers experience our journalism across print, audio, digital, and apps. Our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. Mission Overview & Responsibilities : The New York Times is looking for a Game Designer for our portfolio of games. At NYT Games, we aim to be the premier destination for digital puzzle games. We publish human-made puzzles daily, including Wordle, Spelling Bee, Connections, and the New York Times Crossword, with tens of millions of players each week. This is an individual contributor role. You will collaborate with multiple disciplines to identify and improve critical aspects of our game experiences, create new puzzle games, delight audiences, and further our creative and business goals. We value learning and collaboration, with craft skill development supported by fellow designers, regular design critiques, and opportunities for consistency across the function. NYT Games is not a traditional gaming company. While prior games/puzzles industry experience is required, you are expected to embody NYT values like trust, curiosity, and empathy, and to recognize that the mission of independent journalism is core to everything we do. This is a hybrid position based in our New York City headquarters. Responsibilities Design and document systems and requirements for new games, and features and metagame systems for existing games. Articulate and communicate a vision for game design goals, keeping your team aligned with that vision. Design holistically and with the broader NYT Games aesthetic and style in mind. Use visualization tools to express design concepts, engagement systems, and retention mechanics. Support high-level games strategy, refine game ideas into concrete approaches, collaboratively narrow down ideas, and establish clear requirements. Collaborate with UX/UI designers, engineers, and producers to prototype, improve, test, and launch betas for new games, ensuring design quality and consistency. Partner with the research team to shape games grounded in user insights. Contribute to team and product design rituals. Report to the Executive Director of Product Design. Basic Qualifications 3+ years of experience as a Game Designer for commercial digital games. A portfolio of work that showcases your process along with finished game design work. 2+ years of experience presenting ideas, aligning cross-functional teams and stakeholders around a clear, motivating vision, and on shared priorities. 2+ years experience with user research and synthesis. Proficiency in communicating game design philosophy for developing games and features. Proficiency in prototyping and collaboration tools (ex: Figma, Play, Cursor, Gemini Canvas, Retool, Miro). Preferred Qualifications Experience working both independently and collaboratively on projects that pivot quickly. Demonstrate design decisions and impact. Understanding of the digital games market. Experience designing competitive frameworks, and ability to administer a competition. Enthusiasm for word and puzzle games. #LI-Hybrid Salary range: The annual base pay range for this role is between $104,000 - $125,000 USD. EEO & Accommodations The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable, and quality journalism. We embrace a diverse workforce and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics. The NYT will provide reasonable accommodations as required by law. For accommodation requests or accessibility information, contact reasonable.accommodations@nytimes.com. For information about The New York Times' privacy practices for job applicants, visit our careers site. Please beware of fraudulent job postings; all legitimate NYT opportunities are accessible through The New York Times careers site. Apply for this job To apply, please submit your portfolio and required information through The New York Times careers site. #J-18808-Ljbffr The New York Times

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