Our client is looking for a Studio Operations Manager to build the operational layer of a growing independent PC studio.
The studio is small, fully remote, and self-published. Almost everyone there works on the product, and nobody’s full-time job is making sure the studio itself runs. Headcount grows substantially over the next two years, and the structure needed to absorb that growth doesn’t exist yet.
This role is suited to someone who has run operations in a small studio environment and wants a seat where they decide what gets built rather than executing someone else’s plan. The scope is deliberately broad and will stay that way. The studio is small enough that the successful candidate will do the work themselves, and established enough that they aren’t gambling on a runway.
Responsibilities
Own hiring end to end: identifying what’s missing, running searches, and onboarding new people properly
Build the organisational structure and processes the studio needs before growth starts to strain it
Source and manage external partners, run negotiations, review contracts, and close them
Provide senior support to existing teams on larger deals, contract review, and decisions nobody currently owns
Identify gaps in the organisation and decide whether to solve them directly or hire for them
Set up the day-to-day operational infrastructure new hires depend on, from tooling access to vendor relationships
Work directly alongside the CEO and CFO on the commercial and organisational running of the company
What success looks like
In the first six months: several closed searches across art and design, plus at least one substantial external partnership moved forward
In the first twelve months: further senior hires delivered, and the operational structure in place for the studio to take on more than it currently can
Every new joiner at the studio receives a one-page set of expectations for month three and year one. This role is no exception
Requirements
Games industry experience. This is not a role where the context can be taught
Real people management experience: hiring, onboarding, and leading, not only coordinating
A track record of operating in small organisations, roughly 10 to 30 people, where the problems were resourcing, process, and keeping things from falling over
Comfort with commercial work: negotiating, reviewing contracts, and closing them independently
Fluent Polish language. Location up to 3h time difference from Poland.
Ability to organise other people remotely
A strong instinct for picking up unowned work rather than waiting for the scope to be defined
Backgrounds that fit particularly well
Studio operations in a small studio. The closest direct match
Operations on a publisher’s development or product side. People who kept multiple teams and titles moving and knew how to keep the machinery running around them
Former studio founders, including those whose studio didn’t survive. What matters is having carried the whole thing
One level below this seat today, such as a second-in-command to a studio manager or operations lead who is ready to be the person deciding
Who this isn’t for
Candidates with a mobile background. Different economics, different problems.
Candidates who have operated at large scale, 100+ reports across multiple layers. The problems here are small, hands-on, and unglamorous
Business development profiles without people management experience. Deals are part of this role, but only part
Specialist producers focused solely on localisation, video, or art production
Anyone who needs a clean, defined remit. This role stays loose
What they offer
Salary range dependent on seniority, with genuine flexibility for the right person
B2B or employment contract, candidate’s choice
Fully remote with no office requirement
One company-wide meetup each year
A short hiring process: two conversations, one with the CEO and one with the CFO. No panels and no take-home task
Flexibility on start date. The client would rather wait for the right person than fill the seat quickly
About the company An independent PC studio, self-published, operating fully remote with a small team. The studio is profitable and growing, and is now building out the management layer it has been running without.
Stage: Established independent studio, currently scaling Work mode: Fully remote, Polish-speaking team