Steve Jackson Games: Job Opportunities

Job Opportunities at SJ Games

Last Revised January 2, 2024

We're not looking to fill any positions at this time, but when we are, we'll post them here.

We are seeking a full time Junior Art Director to join our team.

Junior Art Director

Junior Art Director

Steve Jackson Games is seeking a Junior Art Director.

This is a great position for anyone looking to take their career to the next level in the world of game publishing! It's a 40-hour-a-week full-time position, and it may be done remotely.
Responsibilities:

Administer the art process for all products.

Work with Production Manager, Managing Editor, and Line Editors to determine interior and cover art requirements.

Track all art and graphic needs for each product; immediately consult with the Production Manager if any deadline for art or art specifications is not met.

Check art specs provided by editors. Make sure they fit the needs of the product and are written in a way the artist can understand.

Work with the Managing Editor and Line Editor(s) to determine cover requirements for each project. Work and correspond with artists to meet these needs.

Specify art requirements and work with artists, checking comps and sketches, to make sure that art conforms to the specific instructions for the product and the general specifications, if any, for that game line.

Negotiate contracts for covers and interior art; submit check requests for artist payments.

Recruit new artists. Respond in a professional and timely fashion to all inquiries from would-be artists.

Maintain complete and up-to-date files of artists we have worked with or may work with in the future.

Return any physical originals of art after it has been used; file originals that are our property

Illustration, as time permits, if the Junior Art Director is an artist.

Assist with typography, layout, etc., when the above duties permit.

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in art or related field; or relevant work experience.

Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and other illustration and desktop publishing applications.

Ability to work in a collaborative environment, but can work independently when the need arises.

A strong sense of creativity and design.

A love for board games and TTRPGs.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary - $55,000/year

401k

Benefits package includes health insurance after 60 days, dental and vision insurance after 90 days, PTO (paid time off) which accrues from your very first day, and seven paid holidays each year.

How to Apply:

Send applications and resumes to hr@sjgames.com.

Applications must be accompanied by a resume, attached as a PDF or Word document.

The filename must include YOUR NAME.

General Application Information

Your Resume

Any job application must be accompanied by a resume, attached as a PDF or Word document.

The filename must include YOUR NAME, as files named "resume.doc" are entirely too common.

Do NOT follow the common bad Internet advice to "keep your resume down to one page and list only the important things." We're interested in all your previous experience; we're interested in your hobbies, skills, and interests. We have been known to recruit people for entirely different jobs, based on information we never would have gotten from a one-page resume.

Full-Time Staff

Obviously, the things we look for in a new employee depend on the job we have to fill. And for any job, we want somebody who can act professionally and remember that it is a job. We don't sit around all day and play games. A lot of any staff job is administrative. Some weeks, the really cool things are few and far between.

Most people who ask us about jobs are interested in game design and development, writing or editing, or possibly playtesting. But we don't have salaried playtesters on staff. We don't have any full-time designers on staff; we work with freelancers, and everyone here who is a writer or designer also wears at least one other hat. We do, though, have a few staffers who work, part or full-time, as game editors.

We always look for experience when making a hiring decision. We're not likely to hire anyone, for any creative position, unless they have experience either with some other company or as a (successful) freelancer.

Everything we do involves the computer. We use it for communication, writing, proofreading, art and graphics, and layout. Any potential employee OR freelancer must be computer-literate.

We do not offer internships.

Oh, yes. We are a non-smoking office. We have smokers, but they go outside and suffer.

Benefits

For full-time employees, we pay your premiums for health, dental, and vision insurance (there is no co-pay). You only pay for additional family members you wish to cover. The insurance company does have the right to reject an applicant, but they have yet to reject anyone we have submitted.

Paid Time Off (PTO) starts accumulating on your first day. You can accumulate up to four weeks.

In-house Game Days. Yes, these are days when we eat snacks and play games all day long . . . and still get paid.

In good years there might be bonuses. No promises. If we promised, it wouldn't be a bonus.

Somewhat flexible hours, depending on what you are doing. (But this is NOT a "show up when you feel like it" job. We expect your hours to be predictable, but we can be flexible in setting your in-out times, and most employees work four long days and then take Friday off.)

Possibilities for convention travel as a game demonstrator, even if your regular work isn't related to development or marketing.

Free and discounted games, woo-hoo!

Education and Experience

If you're in school, you may wonder what classes you should take to prepare yourself for a career in game design. First, of course, you should learn to write quickly and clearly. Courses in journalism are usually better for this than any type of "creative writing" class. If you cannot write quickly, you'll starve. If you cannot write clearly, somebody else will get the job. While it is possible to be a genius creative talent who cannot write a grammatical sentence, we try to avoid them. There are lots of creative talents out there who can write clear sentences, and we like them better :-)

When writing rules, it helps to have a logical mind. Any class that trains this is worthwhile. Law or pre-law courses in Legislation and Contracts are good preparation for rules writing.

Math, up through pre-calculus, is also relevant. Many forms of math, especially geometry, are all about starting at point A with a set of facts, rules, and assumptions and logically building on them to get to point B. And obviously, probability and statistics are relevant in any game that includes a random element.

Breaking In

How do you break into the field, then? The short answer is: by writing magazine or blog articles on a freelance or even personal basis, and working up from there. It's not the only path, but it's a sure one, provided you have the ability at all! When we talk to a writing candidate, we are always interested if they have a blog we can read. And, if you happen to be a TFT fan, we'll be happy to see your submissions for Hexagram, and who knows what that can lead to?

Freelancing/Contractors

We use lots of freelancers – writers, editors, and artists. The Internet is wonderful. If you have reliable email and FTP capability, we can work with you no matter where in the world you are. Anyone interested in freelancing must know everything in our Authors' Guidelines.