Studio Production Lead

Summary

Join YallaPlay Games Studio, a rapidly growing mobile game startup, as a Production Lead. You will spearhead the production of top-tier card games, overseeing the entire product lifecycle from concept to live operations. Lead and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, ensuring timely delivery and high-quality results. This senior leadership role requires extensive experience in mobile game production, particularly in casual or card games. The position offers a remote-first and flexible schedule, along with competitive salary and benefits. Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, or remote, you will contribute to building something big from the ground up.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in mobile game production, with at least 3 years in a senior role
• Proven track record of launching and scaling successful mobile games, ideally in the casual or card game genres
• Strong understanding of mobile free-to-play game design, LiveOps, monetization strategies, and player retention
• Hands-on experience managing art, game design, and development pipelines in cross-functional teams
• Familiarity with Agile development practices, Jira/Confluence, and production tracking tools
• Excellent leadership, communication, and people management skills
• Strong analytical skills; ability to interpret data to drive decisions and iterate on game features
• Deep empathy for players and a passion for building fun, user-centered experiences
• Comfortable operating at both a strategic and hands-on level in a fast-paced startup environment
• Fluent in English; ability to work with multicultural teams across different time zones

Responsibilities

• Spearhead the company’s mission of producing a portfolio of top tier card games
• Own the full product lifecycle: from concept and roadmap planning to development, soft launch, global release, and live operations
• Work closely with design, art, engineering, monetization, and CX leads to align priorities and drive execution toward shared goals
• Lead sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives; manage backlog grooming and development timelines
• Serve as the connective tissue across teams ensuring communication flows, blockers are removed, and milestones are hit
• Work closely with the studio head to ensure strategic alignment, resource planning, and timely delivery
• Define and track KPIs to monitor performance and health of the portfolio; lead prioritization based on data insights and player feedback
• Provide structured, constructive, and actionable feedback on game builds, feature implementations, and UI/UX flow
• Anticipate production risks and proactively resolve issues related to quality, scope, and timelines
• Champion a player-first approach in both product design and LiveOps

Preferred Qualifications

• Worked on hybrid monetized games at scale
• Experience working on real-time multiplayer mobile games
• Technical proficiency or familiarity with Unity, backend services, or mobile build pipelines
• Experience with designing and balancing game economies

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Remote-first and flexible schedule- Digital nomad friendly
• Generous paid time off
• Paid birthdays off
• UAE visa sponsorship (if applicable)
• Growth opportunities and access to learning resources