Publisher Development Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

The Principal Business Development Specialist for Games serves as a dedicated industry expert embedded within account teams, driving AWS adoption through line-of-business opportunities across the video games sector. This role combines deep games industry expertise with strategic account planning to identify, develop, and launch opportunities that address specific game studio, publisher, and supplier workflows and business challenges.
The role covers the full spectrum of the video games value chain: AAA and indie studios, mobile game developers, publishers, platform holders, game engine providers, middleware and tools companies, and live-service operators, with a regional focus on the North American market.
Key job responsibilities
Account Strategy & Planning
- Contribute Games industry perspective to Account Plans for assigned proactive coverage accounts
- Identify and map Line of Business (LOB) contacts and stakeholders within game studios, publishers, and game technology suppliers
- Utilize the Industry Scorecard to identify whitespace opportunities across four Games solution areas: Game Infrastructure & Backends, Game Analytics (Player Acquisition, Engagement and Monetization), Cloud Game Development, and Game Content Creation
- Collaborate with account teams to develop studio and publsher specific strategies aligned with each customer's development pipeline, live-service operations, and technology modernization goals
- Map customer needs against sub-solution areas including Game Backend as a Service, Multiplayer Session-Based Hosting (Amazon GameLift), Game Security, AI for Content Production, Cloud Build Pipelines, and Automated QA
Opportunity Development & Execution
- Drive Games industry opportunities from Qualified stage through Launch, focusing on measurable business outcomes (cost reduction, time-to-market, player engagement)
- Evangelize AWS services, partner solutions, and Professional Services tailored to video games use cases (e.g., Amazon GameLift, Amazon Bedrock for in-game AI, AI Code Assistance for game dev, Game Analytics Pipeline)
- Achieve 70% partner attachment rate on launched opportunities, leveraging Games ecosystem partners
- Participate in Executive Briefing Centers (EBCs) and executive engagements with C-suite stakeholders at studios and publishers
- Act as facilitator to bring in specialized AWS resources, world-wide specialist teams, ProServe, and partner capabilities
Thought Leadership & Enablement
- Conduct internal enablement sessions for account teams on Games industry trends, use cases, and AWS solutions across all four solution areas
- Lead external thought leadership sessions with customers and at industry events (eg, GDC, Gamescom, DICE, Unreal Fest)
- Contribute to Go-to-Market packages for scale Games customers, including solution playbooks and competitive positioning materials
- Build and maintain relationships with key industry associations, platform holders, and game development communities
- Track and communicate market trends including GenAI adoption in games, live-service economics, and cloud game development evolution
Regional Market Development
- Develop deep understanding of the regional games ecosystem across key markets and studio clusters
- Identify regional trends, competitive dynamics, and market opportunities specific to video games (e.g., mobile-first markets, AAA studio consolidation, indie growth)
- Build partner ecosystem relationships with regional game technology providers, middleware vendors, and systems integrators
- Monitor competitive landscape
A day in the life
Your primary focus is being the go-to expert on video games for our teams working with studio and publisher customers

You're the person who understands how game companies actually build, ship, and operate games - and can connect those challenges to AWS solutions.
Most days, you're embedded with account teams having conversations with game studios and publishers. You might start your morning on a call with a major publisher, helping the team understand what their CTO cares about when it comes to scaling multiplayer infrastructure for a tentpole launch. You're translating between the game development side and the cloud infrastructure side, making sure everyone speaks the same language.
You'll spend a good chunk of time in customer meetings - sometimes it's a formal executive briefing where you're presenting to C-level folks at a AAA studio, other times it's a working session with their tech leads diving into the specifics of how they could modernize their build pipeline or adopt AI tools for content production

You're not just talking about technology; you're talking about their production timelines, their live-ops challenges, and how they can ship better games faster.
Between customer engagements, you're also teaching. You'll run sessions for account teams to help them understand what's happening in the industry - how GenAI is transforming content pipelines, why studios are consolidating infrastructure onto cloud backends, what's changing in game analytics and player engagement. You become their trusted advisor on all things games.
What makes this role interesting is the variety

One day you might be helping an indie studio figure out their Amazon GameLift deployment for a multiplayer launch, the next you're at GDC sharing insights on AI-powered game development, and the day after that you're working with partners to build a comprehensive analytics solution for a major publisher migrating off a competitor.
You'll also get pulled into strategic planning - helping teams think through which opportunities to pursue, where the white space is in an account, and how to approach complex deals that might take months to close. It's part detective work, part strategy, part relationship building.
Travel is part of the mix - you'll be visiting studios, attending industry events, and collaborating with teams across the region. But it's purposeful travel that lets you build real relationships and stay connected to what's actually happening in the games market.
About the team
Diverse Experiences
AWS values diverse experiences

Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn't followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don't let it stop you from applying.
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Mentorship & Career Growth
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Work/Life Balance
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About the team
The AWS Industries team is committed to helping industry customers enable their digital transformation journeys. Our primary goal is to meet customers in their cloud journeys and work backwards from their industry-specific needs to transform their businesses and industries

Our team focuses on business outcomes and industry use cases on behalf of our customers, whether that is how we build products and solutions, how we sell, how we deliver, or how we partner.
You'll be part of the Global Geo Industry Specialist Games team (GIST) within the broader Media, Entertainment & Games and Sports Industry Business Unit, focused on the North American market. The team works collaboratively across multiple geographies, segments including AAA studios, indie developers, mobile studios, publishers, platform holders, game engine and middleware providers, game services companies, and esports organizations.
The team culture emphasizes customer obsession, fostering innovation through curiosity, and empowering high-velocity decisions. You'll work closely with account teams, Solutions Architects, AWS Professional Services, Industry Marketing, and an extensive partner ecosystem

Strategic focus areas include accelerating time to market, game infrastructure modernization, AI/ML adoption for game development and content creation, player analytics and engagement, and helping studios achieve operational efficiency through cloud-native and AI powered architectures.