Development Manager

Electronic Arts is a leading developer of interactive electronic entertainment (e.g. computer and console games like Sim City, FIFA Soccer, and Madden NFL Football). Revenues exceed $2.9B with 6,100 employees in 26 countries.

EA is pursuing four strategic objectives:
- Be the place for great people to create and deliver great games
- Lead on next generation platforms
- Expand our business
- Deliver our operating plan

The EA Tiburon studio, located in beautiful Orlando, Florida, develops hit games for franchises such as Madden NFL Football, NCAA Football, NFL Street, NASCAR: Chase For The Cup, and Superman. With its past track record of very high quality on-time deliveries and stellar technology, EA Tiburon is looking forward to an even greater future and committed to staying at the bleeding edge of interactive entertainment.

PREREQUISITES

Personal/Professional Development
Candidates in this role should possess the ability to think outside the box and use creativity to solve problems.

Should take initiative to:
o Improve product quality.
o Improve productivity.

Possess a strong drive to continue learning by:
o Actively pursuing learning opportunities.
o Taking responsibility for his/her own career.
o Looking for opportunities to stretch beyond comfort zone.
o Taking critique in a positive and constructive way.

Problem Solving
Removes roadblocks for direct reports so they can be effective.
Works closely with the pod to identify issues and follows through until they are resolved.

Communication
Must be able to clearly communicate by:
o Running effective pod meetings.
o Tailoring communication to suit the needs of the intended audience.
o Possessing clear, concise, and constructive communication (both written and verbal).
o Building rapport with direct reports, related peers, cross-department peers, and team management.

Reporting
Reports to a Development Director (DD) or Development Manager (DM) and generally has up to 8 direct reports.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Management
Maintains quality control by:
o Managing the bug workflow for the team or area of focus.
o Ensuring maximum quality for milestone deliverables.

Creates an effective project plan for the assigned team by:
o Contributing to project capacity planning.
o Scheduling and monitoring task progress.
o Managing and ensuring timely delivery of dependencies.
o Identifying, monitoring, and managing external dependencies.
o Ensuring timely completion and integration of deliverables.
o Assessing, monitoring, and proactively mitigating risk.

Expands the organizational development of the team or area of focus with improved workflows, team structure, and communication plans.
Works to proactively remove roadblocks.

People Management
Fosters an environment of career development with direct reports by:
o Mentoring and providing stretch goals above the normal day-to-day tasks.
o Observing performance and providing timely feedback.
o Assisting in creating an actionable and professional development plan.
o Managing a focused training plan that pertains to the direct reports area of work.
o Scheduling and holding regular 1-on-1 meetings.

Maintains a strong team moral through:
o Regular pod monitoring and taking action when moral drops.
o Recognizing the accomplishments and contributions of direct reports.

Process Management
Identifies and mitigates workflow problems to improve efficiency.
Identifies the need for documentation of formalized and repeatable processes.

Ownership
Takes accountability and ownership for work by:
o Being responsible for the success of the pod.
o Identifying and mitigating risk.
o Aligning dependencies with other pods and/or external teams.
o Handling responsibility beyond the explicit for his/her own pod.
o Being proactive in all responsibilities.

Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
PROFESSIONALISM
Works as a team player.
Follows company policies and procedures.
Observes company core hours.
Dependable, enthusiastic, courteous, and detail oriented.
Exhibits integrity.

LEADERSHIP
A Development Manager should exhibit leadership qualities by:
o Leading others by example, mentoring, and action.
o Instilling a positive impact on team morale.
o Providing a clear understanding of the goals and happenings of the pod.

Required Skills and Experience:
- Minimum 3 years software development experience; minimum 1 years project management or team leadership experience