Community Manager Video Game Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

• Job Location: Progress - Irvine, CA 92618
• Position Type: Full Time
• Salary Range: $131,000.00 - $164,000.00
• Hybrid Work Model

Are you an experienced Senior Community Manager with a passion for video and mobile games? Do you have a proven track record launching and supporting AAA and mobile titles?

Reporting to the Senior Director of GaaS Marketing, the Senior Community Manager will lead external product communication, community engagement, and marketing efforts for SEGA Japan Studios’ GaaS (Games-as-a-Service) titles. This role requires close collaboration with SEGA of America's social and community teams, the broader marketing organization, and cross‑functional partners across the company.

The Senior Community Manager will also work closely with Japan Studios to plan and execute community activations, leveraging a deep understanding of the Persona and Hatsune Miku IPs, as well as live operations events. This position plays a key role in strategic planning for community and social functions, while also leading and supporting the execution of initiatives alongside direct reports.

Additionally, this role is responsible for growing and managing community channels, amplifying the player voice, and leveraging insights and experience to align player interests with business goals. The Senior Community Manager will help shape a broader strategic plan for Western markets, incorporating the industry trends and best practices to build a strong fandom around SEGA’s GaaS titles.

• Define and develop the brand voice and personality for GaaS titles, including Persona5: The Phantom X, HATSUNE MIKU: COLORFUL STAGE!, and upcoming unannounced projects.
• Collaborate with SEGA of America, SEGA of Japan, IP holders and development teams and international teams to develop globally integrated and innovative community campaigns that are aligned with strategic and financial objectives.
• Develop, maintain, and oversee the social content roadmap calendar, ensuring promotional efforts are strategically aligned.
• Serve as the primary community contact maintaining direct interface with development and studio groups to deliver key insights, trends and best practices.
• Define content strategy and player-facing communications across social media and community channels, including proactive engagement and reactive messaging.
• Provide engaging written and visual content, working with internal social and creative design teams and creative agencies as necessary.
• Manage all community and social channels for assigned products, including social media platforms (Meta, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube), forums (Reddit, Discord, owned forums) and first‑party community hub.
• Build, manage, and sustain strategic relationships with content creators and influencers to support long‑term engagement, audience amplification, and portfolio growth.
• Act as the subject‑matter expert for social platforms and tools, managing partnerships with each of the platform account managers.
• Identify needs, problems, common opinions, and end‑user sentiment through official community channels and social media, providing meaningful reporting to management.
• Analyze and report KPI metrics related to community sentiment and social engagement, using data to drive improvement, optimization, and innovation.
• Drive audience growth, viewership, and concurrency on Twitch and YouTube.
• Represent the voice of the game and developer to players across social and community channels.
• Become a product expert and participate in livestreams and video productions as an informational and authoritative brand representative, when required.
• Own and manage the social and community budget across the assigned portfolio, allocating resources to meeting operating objectives.
• Other responsibilities are performed as assigned or needed.

• Working in‑office is an essential function of this position. This requirement of face‑to‑face interaction is in place to ensure effective supervision, collaboration, and teamwork. In‑office attendance is required for the following reasons:
• For effective supervision of employees and our work product, which includes ensuring all employees have necessary oversight of their work and access to supervisory assistance, which includes meetings to review work product, deadlines, and status.
• To foster communication and collaboration among team members, which includes the following: allowing for spontaneous brainstorming sessions and exchanges of ideas, quick access to team members to enable collaborative problem‑solving, and stronger cohesion among co‑workers and within teams.
• To enhance the sharing of information necessary to effective job performance and product creation.
• To enhance understanding of our stakeholders’ work and business needs, facilitate a more seamless and organic workflow, and ultimately increase efficiency and successful outcomes.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in communication, marketing, or a related field.
• Typically has 8+ years of experience in community management, social media marketing or fan‑focused public relations in a related field.
• 3+ years of management experience, including leading teams of 2 or more and overseeing external vendors in community management efforts.
• Avid gamer with a strong understanding of relevant genres, including RPGs, anime‑inspired games, and titles centered around Japanese IP.
• Passion for gaming culture and communities, experience or strong interest in the anime or gaming industry/brands is a plus.
• In‑depth knowledge of community and content distribution channels, emerging trends, best practices, and their role in community and publishing strategy.
• Exemplary product and brand communications, copywriting, and creative writing skills.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate a clear vision across various audiences.
• Ability to tell a compelling story through presentations; proficiency with PowerPoint and/or Excel a strong plus.
• Knowledge of publisher streaming and content creation on streaming and social channels including back‑end analysis of metrics and scheduling.
• Organized self‑starter, with demonstrated ability to plan and self‑manage concurrent content pipelines and programs, while working in a team environment.
• Active engagement with current games industry news with a deep understanding of gamer culture on social media platforms.
• Ability to coordinate execution of plans within budget, set timelines, and to meet deadlines across all duties of the role. Experience building new processes and applying best practices a strong plus.
• Ability to leverage quantitative analytic measures, build business cases to support initiatives and focus on KPI / ROI metrics.
• Proficiency in MS Office and social analytics platforms.
• Proven ability to manage confidential product, business, and trade information with professionalism and discretion.
• Positive, professional, collaborative, and flexible attitude.

• Japanese language and experience working with Japanese or Asian corporations a plus.
• Graphic design experience is a plus.