Studio Creative Director

Smoking Gun Interactive

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Smoking Gun Interactive (SGI), a Keywords Studio, is seeking a passionate, experienced, and visionary Studio Creative Director. This role is the driving creative force behind SGI's entire portfolio of games. The Studio Creative Director will be the primary architect of new game concepts, responsible for generating innovative, cohesive, and highly marketable game ideas that fit constraints. This position ensures alignment across design, art, narrative, and user experience, and maintains a consistently high bar for quality and player experience. The role involves confidently pitching, clearly communicating, and advocating for game concepts to external clients, internal development teams, and the 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 to relocate to the Greater Vancouver Area, with the expectation to be able to come into the office as needed and be eligible to work in Canada.

Requirements

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.

Nice To Haves

Experience mentoring and improving staff skills is a plus.

Responsibilities

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.