Cinematic Director, StarCraft | Irvine, CA

Your Mission

Blizzard Entertainment is assembling a team to build the next chapter of StarCraft returning to a universe forged in interstellar war. This mission offers something new: crafting an original story-driven open-world shooter while honoring the legacy of one of Blizzards most beloved games.

We are here to reignite this universe alongside you. We are here to make StarCraft and its about damn time.

We are looking for a Cinematic Director to help craft this new game for Blizzard. As a key member of the development team you will leada team toexecute onthe vision development anddeliveryof cinematic work partnering closely with the game team production leadership and theexecutiveproducer.As the product ownerofthe cinematics team you will lead the team set prioritiesaligncreative direction and help deliver compelling storytelling that supports the overall vision of the game.

This role offers a hybrid work week with a mix of work-from-home and on-site days based out of our Irvine studio.

Responsibilities

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours so this role includes but is not limited to the following responsibilities:

• Lead the creative development and execution of cinematic work for a new StarCraft game ensuring alignment with overall vision tone and player experience.

• Guide cinematic work from early concepting and pitching through animatics iteration implementation and final delivery.

• Personally author block and iterate cinematic sequences within a real-time engine (e.g. Unreal Sequencer) not solely through delegation.

• Establish and uphold a high bar for cinematic storytelling including pacing staging camera language performance emotional clarity and overall quality.

• Partner with audio music and voice-over teams to help shape performances and ensure cinematicmomentsland with clarity emotion and impact.

• Present work clearly and confidently to stakeholders synthesizing feedback whilemaintainingcreative clarity and momentum.

• Partner closely with the creative director project leadership and cross-functional teams (design narrative animation audio art production) to drive alignment and deliver compelling cinematic storytelling.

• Balance the projects creative ambition with production realities making thoughtful trade-offs across scope timelines resources and team capacity.

• Act as the product owner for the cinematics team setting priorities aligning work to project goals and milestones andfocusingthe team on the highest-impact opportunities.

• Serve as the people manager for the cinematics team providing coaching feedback performance management and support for growth and development.

• Help define effective workflows review rhythms and team practices that support strong collaboration and predictable execution.

• Collaborate with external partners when needed providing clear creative direction and feedback to ensure work meets project expectations.

MinimumRequirements

• 10 years of professional experience in cinematics game development animation film television or other narrative visual media.

• 2 years of directpeople-managementexperience including coaching feedback and performance management.

• Proven hands-on ownership of cinematic sequences fromprevisthrough final in-engine implementation including camera staging pacing and polish.

• Ability to step in at any stage of production to resolve creative or technical blockers with minimal overhead.

• Deep working knowledge of real-time cinematic pipelines including animation integration lighting layout and runtime constraints.

• Practical experience with industry-standard tools such as Unreal Engine Maya/MotionBuilder and performance capture workflows with the ability to prototype and iterate directly in tool.

• Experience diagnosing and resolving pipeline inefficiencies and bridging gaps between cinematic animation and engineering teams.

• Hands-on experience directing performance capture sessions with the ability to translate narrative intent into actionable direction for actors and technical teams.

• Strong understanding of capture limitations and downstream implications to ensure performance translates effectively in engine.

• Demonstrated ability to adapt creative direction based on engine constraints memory budgets and runtime performance targets whilemaintainingnarrative clarity.

• A playercoach leadership style leading through direct contribution and craft credibility rather than review-only cycles.

• Ability to mentor through active engagement in-tool reviews pairing and hands-on problem solving.

• Strong understanding of cinematic storytelling fundamentals including pacing composition staging camera language editing and performance.

• Experience balancing creativepossibilitieswith schedules dependencies bandwidth and production constraints.

• Strong communicationskills including the ability to pitch ideas synthesize feedback and represent the team clearly in reviews.

What Sets You Apart

• You are a hands-on cinematic creator who actively works in engine and DCC tools to bring sequences to life.

• You have personally shipped cinematic content and can clearly articulate your direct contributions.

• You are comfortable owning both creative direction and execution stepping into the work when needed tomaintainquality and momentum.

• You treat technical constraints as part of the creative process not a downstream consideration.

• You lead through craft excellence and direct engagement not abstraction.

Bonus Points

• Experience developing or shipping cinematic work for AAA games.

• Experience with multiple in-engine or real-time cinematic pipelines.

• Experience working on story-driven or character-driven games.

• Experience collaborating with external vendors or outsource partners.

• Familiarity with Blizzard games and a strong appreciation for interactive narrative-driven storytelling.
  

ApplicationMaterials:

• Resume.

• A strong portfolio or reeldemonstratinghigh-quality cinematic narrative or visually driven storytellingwork.