---
title: 'Manager, Publishing Operations at thatgamecompany'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-publishing-operations-thatgamecompany-united-states-41h9ht77tb2f'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-09'
---

# Manager, Publishing Operations at thatgamecompany

- **Company:** thatgamecompany
- **Location:** United States
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-11-06
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/thatgamecompany/520279ea-f5d6-4a96-b850-1c544557f2b4

## Job description

Manager, Publishing Operations Remote - US & Canada

## About the Role

We're looking for a Manager, Publishing Operations to lead our project management team and help ensure that thatgamecompany's publishing efforts are organized, aligned, and delivered effectively. This role oversees the project management function across integrated marketing campaigns, live operations, and ongoing publishing initiatives. You'll manage and develop a team of project managers that oversee storefront submissions, ASO, and marketing creative, establish consistent planning and delivery practices, and maintain visibility across the publishing portfolio to ensure priorities, dependencies, resources, and risks are understood. Working across Brand, Creative, Communications, Community, User Acquisition, Storefront, Game Development, and external partners, you'll help connect the work happening across teams and ensure complex initiatives move forward with clarity and accountability. You'll partner closely with publishing leadership to identify delivery risks, resolve cross-functional challenges, and provide a clear picture of progress, capacity, and upcoming decisions. We're looking for someone who can move comfortably between the details of individual projects and the broader needs of the organization. You're an experienced project management leader who knows how to coach a team, navigate competing priorities, build effective processes, and earn the trust of creative and operational partners. You understand that good project management isn't about adding layers of process; it's about creating clarity, anticipating challenges, and giving talented people the space to do their best work.

## What You'll Do

Project Management Team Leadership

- Lead and develop the project management team, establishing clear expectations for project ownership, communication, planning, and delivery.
- Provide coaching, feedback, and professional development to help project managers strengthen their skills and grow in their roles.
- Oversee project assignments and workload distribution, balancing team capacity, project complexity, and organizational priorities.
- Ensure project managers have the context, tools, and support needed to manage their work effectively and independently.
- Establish consistent standards for project plans, milestone tracking, status reporting, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
- Review project health across the team, helping identify issues that require additional support, cross-functional alignment, or leadership intervention.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, proactive problem-solving, and continuous improvement.

Portfolio Planning & Delivery Oversight

- Maintain an integrated view of publishing initiatives, including launches, campaigns, live operations, and partner projects.
- Ensure project plans align with publishing priorities, realistic timelines, resource availability, and key dependencies.
- Monitor delivery health across the portfolio, identifying schedule conflicts, capacity constraints, and risks that span multiple projects.
- Partner with publishing leadership to assess competing priorities, evaluate trade-offs, and recommend adjustments to scope, sequencing, or resourcing.
- Provide clear, concise reporting on portfolio progress, major milestones, risks, and decisions requiring leadership input.
- Ensure project managers proactively identify and communicate changes that may affect other teams, campaigns, or launch commitments.
- Help maintain a realistic and coordinated view of upcoming publishing demands so teams can plan ahead rather than react to avoidable surprises.

Cross-Functional Coordination

- Serve as a senior operational partner across Brand, Creative, Communications, Community, User Acquisition, Storefront, Production, and other relevant stakeholders.
- Ensure project managers establish clear ownership, timelines, dependencies, and decision-making processes across their initiatives.
- Help resolve cross-functional challenges when competing priorities or unclear responsibilities put delivery at risk.
- Build trusted relationships with functional leads and publishing leadership to improve alignment and decision-making.
- Ensure changes in development, creative production, campaign scope, or business priorities are communicated to the teams affected.
- Support project managers in navigating complex stakeholder relationships and escalating issues at the appropriate time.

Game Development & Publishing Alignment

- Oversee coordination between marketing project management and game development and production teams, and share key information with the publishing team as a dedicated point of contact.
- Ensure publishing plans account for development milestones, content readiness, feature timing, build availability, and other critical dependencies.
- Work with project managers and development stakeholders to assess the impact of schedule or scope changes on marketing deliverables and launch readiness.
- Establish clear escalation and communication practices for development changes that affect publishing commitments.
- Help teams plan realistically around development uncertainty while respecting development workflows and minimizing unnecessary disruption.

Publishing Operations & Process Improvement

- Own the development and continuous improvement of project management practices, tools, reporting, and operating rhythms across the team.
- Establish scalable approaches to integrated planning, risk tracking, dependency management, approvals, and portfolio visibility.
- Identify opportunities to simplify workflows, reduce unnecessary administrative work, and improve delivery predictability.
- Ensure project management processes provide meaningful structure without limiting creative flexibility or slowing decision-making.
- Lead retrospectives and post-launch reviews, translating lessons learned into practical improvements.
- Partner with publishing leadership to evolve the team's operating model as the portfolio and organizational needs grow.

External Partners, Budgets & Resource Management

- Ensure project managers maintain clear scopes, timelines, deliverables, and approval processes with agencies, vendors, freelancers, and production partners.
- Oversee project-level budget tracking, vendor commitments, forecasts, and financial reporting practices.
- Partner with finance and marketing leads to identify budget variances and upcoming commitments.
- Maintain visibility into internal and external resource constraints across projects.
- Surface capacity, budget, and delivery trade-offs early, helping leadership make informed decisions about priorities and available resources.

Launch & Campaign Readiness

- Oversee project management planning for major launches and integrated campaigns from kickoff through post-launch review.
- Ensure launch plans account for creative production, communications, community, user acquisition, storefronts, localization, development dependencies, and external partners.
- Establish appropriate milestone reviews and readiness checkpoints for high-priority initiatives.
- Support project managers in resolving blockers and escalating risks that require broader organizational decisions.
- Ensure post-launch learnings are captured and incorporated into future planning and execution.

## What You Bring

- 8–10+ years of experience in marketing project management, integrated marketing, production management, publishing operations, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience leading, managing, or mentoring project managers, with a strong interest in team development.
- Experience managing complex, cross-functional marketing initiatives with multiple parallel workstreams and dependencies.
- Strong understanding of game development and publishing workflows and how development milestones affect marketing execution.
- Experience overseeing multiple concurrent projects or a portfolio of initiatives, with the ability to identify cross-project risks and resource conflicts.
- Strong skills in project planning, prioritization, risk management, stakeholder communication, and delivery oversight.
- Experience establishing project management processes, reporting practices, and operational workflows that improve team effectiveness.
- Ability to communicate project health, capacity constraints, and delivery risks clearly to senior stakeholders.
- Experience coordinating external agencies, vendors, budgets, and production partners.
- Excellent judgment and the ability to navigate changing priorities, ambiguity, and competing demands.
- A collaborative leadership style that builds trust, encourages accountability, and empowers teams to do their best work.
- Genuine enthusiasm for games and an appreciation for thatgamecompany's creative approach.

Perks:

- Paid Time Off, Holidays and Two Weeks Winter Break
- Employees and their dependents get medical, dental, and vision coverage, regardless of their level, tenure, or position within the company. Moreover, these benefits start on the first day of the job—there’s no waiting period before they kick in.
- Pet Insurance for those who need it too.
- Compassionate leave for employees who needs to take care of their family members
- Pre-tax wellness stipend
- Pre-tax work from home stipend
- Access our savings plan (401K program) with company match
- Mental health resources including Headspace membership and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Discount portal for everyday goods and services
- Employee inclusive and diversity initiatives such as Grow Together
- Support for personal professional development

We look forward to meeting you!

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

The salary range for this position is $126,000 USD to $148,500 USD annually, with the opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. This salary range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on the Company’s compensation practices. Employees in this position are eligible to participate in the Company’s standard employee benefit programs, which currently include the following: medical, dental, vision, 401k, and paid time off.

Our base pay is benchmarked against regional market and industry data and is adjusted to reflect the cost of living in your specific geographic area.

#LI-Remote

## About thatgamecompany

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: thatgamecompany is an independent game studio dedicated to creating timeless, emotionally resonant interactive entertainment that inspires human connection worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Privately Held; last reported funding round in 2022 with $160M investment)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Monica, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2006 (founded on May 15, 2006)
- **Founders**: Jenova Chen, Kellee Santiago

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Video games / Interactive entertainment
- **Target customers**: B2C – broad audience of all ages and backgrounds; mobile, console, and PC gamers
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Create timeless entertainment that makes positive change to the human psyche worldwide.”

## Products & Services
- **[flOw (2007)](https://thatgamecompany.com/our-history/)**: A downloadable game originally a Flash title, remade for PlayStation Network with enhanced visuals and multiplayer. Focuses on intuitive, meditative gameplay.
- **[Flower (2009)](https://thatgamecompany.com/our-history/)**: A PS3 title where the player controls the wind to guide petals through landscapes. Evokes emotions of tranquility and wonder. Inducted into the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
- **[Journey (2012)](https://thatgamecompany.com/our-history/)**: Award-winning PS3 game about a pilgrim crossing a desert towards a mountain. Known for its anonymous multiplayer cooperation and emotional storytelling.
- **[Sky: Children of the Light (2019)](https://thatgamecompany.com/our-history/)**: Free-to-play mobile/console/PC game (spiritual successor to Journey). Players explore magical realms, fly using capes, and meet other players. Available on iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Windows. Reached 100 million installations by May 2021. Chosen as Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year 2019.
- **Upcoming fifth game (in development)**: Described by founder Jenova Chen as “like a theme park” and “the most ambitious game I have built.”

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue – $17.8M (estimated 2025 data); Total Funding – $36.1M per LinkedIn (prior rounds) **plus** a $160M investment announced in March 2022 (with Pixar co-founder Edwin Catmull as advisor). (Sources conflict slightly; the $160M appears to be a later, larger round not reflected in the LinkedIn summary)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Benchmark (led Series A), Capital Today (led Series B), Edwin Catmull (advisor, former Pixar co-founder). Past partners include Sony Computer Entertainment (initial contract for three PlayStation Network games).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 16% YoY to ~198 employees; operates across 15 countries; Sky continues to expand platforms (Windows early access April 2024); active job postings: 24 (yearly trend +4.3%). Announced a new game jam (“thatgamejam”) in June 2025 focused on creativity and emotion.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique emotional design philosophy**: Games are designed by first mapping out desired player emotions rather than mechanics, creating experiences rarely found in mainstream gaming.
- **Artistic credibility and legacy**: flOw, Flower, and Journey are critically acclaimed and exhibited in museums like the Smithsonian. The studio is recognized as a pioneer of art games.
- **Broad accessibility**: Games are intuitive, controller-friendly, and designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages and cultures.
- **Long-term relationship with a passionate community**: Sky has a dedicated player base with millions of installations, supported by live operations and regular content updates.
- **Creative autonomy**: The company prioritizes innovation over blockbuster financial pressure, enabling risk-taking on emotionally rich projects.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expanding Sky: Children of the Light** – continued platform releases, live content, and regional brand growth (e.g., dedicated brand managers for Indonesia, China).
- **Developing the next-generation title** – described as “the most ambitious” yet, with a theme-park-like scale.
- **Deepening AI and machine learning capabilities** – open positions for Senior Machine Learning Engineer and Full-stack Engineer (AI application focused) indicate investment in AI-driven gameplay or operations.
- **Fostering internal creativity** – initiatives like thatgamejam encourage experimentation across the studio.
- **Strengthening global presence** – operating in 15 countries with localized teams for publishing, support, and marketing.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: The studio describes itself as “compassionate, creative” and values “integrity and personal growth within an environment of intense collaboration and experimentation.” Employee rating on LinkedIn: 4.2/5.0 (11 reviews), with Culture score 4.3, Work-Life 4.2, Compensation 4.2, Career 4.1.
- **Remote/Hybrid/Office Policy**: Not explicitly stated in provided sources, but headquarters in Santa Monica, California is a physical studio. The company previously planned a second studio in SF Bay Area (cancelled due to COVID) and now operates distributed across 15 countries, suggesting flexible/remote options are possible.
- **Notable Perks & Engineering Culture**: Emphasis on “making magic” and pushing artistic boundaries; tech stack includes Kubernetes, Docker, Prometheus, Protobuf, Tableau, microservices, and GitHub. Employees come from top entertainment/tech companies (Pixar, Blizzard, Riot Games, Amazon, Unity, etc.), indicating a high-caliber peer group.
- **Growth Opportunity**: With 24 active job postings (including Engineering, AI, Art, Marketing, Data) and a yearly hiring trend +4.3%, the studio is expanding. Roles such as Senior Data Analyst, Senior Machine Learning Engineer, and 3D Environment Artist signal opportunities to work on flagship products.
- **Mission-driven work**: Opportunity to contribute to games that aim to make a positive impact on players’ lives and expand the emotional range of the medium.

## Sources
1. [thatgamecompany.com – Official Site, About, Careers, News](https://thatgamecompany.com/)
2. [thatgamecompany Careers Page](https://thatgamecompany.com/careers/)
3. [LinkedIn Company Profile for thatgamecompany](https://www.linkedin.com/company/thatgamecompany)
4. [Wikipedia – thatgamecompany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThatGameCompany)
5. [thatgamecompany – Our History](https://thatgamecompany.com/our-history/)

## Other roles at thatgamecompany

- [Game Designer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/game-designer-intern-thatgamecompany-shanghai-9rfy8fdcha94) — Shanghai, China
- [Trust and Safety Analyst (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/trust-and-safety-analyst-contract-thatgamecompany-united-states-ckyb6zcjyt2e) — United States
- [Project Manager, Creative Services (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/project-manager-creative-services-contract-thatgamecompany-united-states-tqfbbstq3rcm) — United States
- [Senior Engine Programmer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engine-programmer-thatgamecompany-united-states-bthpk0sccwmr) — United States
- [IT Support Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/it-support-specialist-thatgamecompany-los-angeles-s9mfzmmxp6a9) — Los Angeles, CA
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- [Game Engine Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/game-engine-engineer-thatgamecompany-shanghai-b7ge525n3wyc) — Shanghai, China
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- [Build Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/build-engineer-thatgamecompany-united-states-188c9cwh2mnb) — United States
- [Technical Game Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-game-designer-thatgamecompany-shanghai-gm4tx8xkhkr4) — Shanghai, China