Responsibilities
- Support multiple game studios with varying needs, geographic locations, and vendor rosters simultaneously (typically 5–8 active projects)
- Manage and contribute to outsourcing schedules, ensuring alignment between studios and service providers
- Break down project phases and communicate time/cost estimates; track progress and identify roadblocks to determine schedule risk
- Analyze situations to identify risks and roadblocks and mitigate / problem-solve around them at the project level
- Ensure alignment within projects; send project status reports, run meetings, and maintain meeting agendas
- Evaluate new vendor candidates against Zynga business standards
- Work collaboratively with central departments: Legal, Finance, Procurement, Accounts Payable, and IT
- Evaluate new vendor candidates against Zynga business standards
- Troubleshoot any studio-vendor misalignments at the project level
- Resolve conflicts at the project level
- Knowledgeably negotiate with vendors at the project level on pricing, rates, and terms
- Maintain ongoing vendor relationships; explore and research new vendors
- Ensure alignment between studios and vendors throughout engagement lifecycle
- Understand different vendor pricing structures and methodologies
- Evaluate acceptable rates per project status and make recommendations
- Evaluate acceptable payment terms and make recommendations
- Work with studios to forecast a budget and provide a detailed breakdown/justification as well as analysis on rightsizing based on historical actuals and context
- Draft contracts, manage purchase orders (POs), and approve invoices for ongoing projects
- Track and report budget spend; provide budget analysis and forecasting support to the Executive Producer and team
- Draft and review vendor contracts and statements of work (SOWs)
- Recognize legal and business risks in individual contract terms and communicate those risks clearly to Legal, studios, and vendors
- Understand the different types of contingent workers and constraints around each engagement type
- Raise employment risks to studios and employment counsel based on analysis of the engagement structure
- Ensure alignment within projects; send timely, accurate project reports
- Run meetings effectively; own the communication flow outward to studios and vendors
- Identify dependencies and create project plans
- Understands and articulates the rationale behind outsourcing roadmap items relevant to each studio engagement
- Support and provide learning opportunities for Associate Producers
- Facilitate team communication and connections across a distributed team
- Identify risks to team culture and morale and propose solutions; actively seek input on team health
- Actively build and demonstrate core leadership soft skills: trust, advocacy, empathy, high EQ, and transparent communication
Requirements
- 3–5 years of production or project management experience in the game industry or a related creative/tech field
- Demonstrated ability to work independently to manage project plans, schedules, and key deliverables at high quality
- Proven ability to support multiple studios with different needs, geographies, and vendor portfolios simultaneously
- Experience building and managing production schedules; comfortable identifying and mitigating schedule risk
- Able to negotiate systems and administrative processes for working with external service providers
- Experience collaborating with cross-functional central teams: Legal, Finance, Procurement, AP, IT
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate new vendor candidates and maintain ongoing vendor relationships
- Comfortable knowledgeably negotiating vendor rates, pricing structures, and contract terms at the project level
- Experience troubleshooting studio-vendor misalignments and resolving conflicts constructively
- Solid understanding of vendor pricing structures and methodologies (fixed fee, T&M, milestone-based, etc.)
- Able to evaluate acceptable rates and payment terms; experience building and justifying budget forecasts
- Proficient in MS Excel or Google Sheets for tracking spend, variance analysis, and budget reporting
- Experience drafting POs and approving invoices in a timely manner
- Able to draft and review vendor contracts and SOWs
- Can recognize legal/business risks in contract terms and communicate clearly to Legal, studios, and vendors
- Understanding of contingent worker classifications and associated engagement constraints
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to adapt style for creative, technical, and business audiences
- Experienced working with highly distributed, cross-functional teams across time zones
- Strong relationship-builder with both internal studio partners and external vendors
- Confident running meetings, managing agendas, and owning follow-through on action items
- Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides) and MS Office, especially Excel
- Experience with project tracking tools (Jira, Smartsheet, Asana, or similar)
- Comfortable navigating contract management, procurement, and AP systems (e.g., iProc, Ironclad, Coupa, or similar)
- Highly self-motivated and organized; able to operate with autonomy on pre-defined workflows and project processes
- Forward-looking and proactive: anticipates challenges before they become blockers
- Detail-oriented with a solutions-first mindset
- Positive influence on team culture; adaptable and resilient in a fast-paced environment
- High emotional intelligence; builds trust through transparent and empathetic communication
Nice to Have
- Outsourcing or external development experience strongly preferred
- Familiarity with the full game development lifecycle is a plus
What You'll Do
As an ExDev Producer, your work spans four core domains: Outsourcing Pipeline Management, Vendor Relations, Financial Management, and Legal & Contracts.
What You Bring
We are looking for a candidate who blends strong production fundamentals with the specific skills that make ExDev unique: vendor savvy, financial literacy, and the ability to build trust across a highly distributed, cross-functional ecosystem.
