Senior Manager, Learning & Development

Job description

Level Up Your Career with Zynga! At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times—connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition. From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille™, Words With Friends™, Zynga Poker™, Game of Thrones Slots Casino™, Wizard of Oz Slots™, Hit it Rich! Slots™, Wonka Slots™, Top Eleven™, Toon Blast™, Empires & Puzzles™, Merge Dragons!™, CSR Racing™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, Match Factory™, and Color Block Jam™—plus many more! Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation—and where you can take your career to the next level. Join us and be part of the play! Position Overview: Our Functional Councils are the "guardians of the bar" for Zynga’s talent. While studio leadership manages vertical day-to-day operations, the Councils provide the horizontal integrity necessary to ensure our disciplines remain world-class. We are introducing a new role, Sr. Manager L&D, to serve as the primary partner for these Councils, directly supporting the functional and technical training requirements across the business. This individual will turn high-level talent observations into high-impact, craft-specific training roadmaps. You will be responsible for evolving our training strategy beyond general professional development into the specialized, technical upskilling required for Art, Engineering, Game Design, Product, and Production. What You’ll Do: Needs Assessment & Strategic Roadmap: Design and execute thorough needs assessments to identify the technical and functional skills required for the next 1-2 years across all major disciplines. Translate these insights into a multi-quarter functional training roadmap that balances specific discipline needs with a global, cross-discipline perspective. Partner directly with Discipline Council leads (Art, Production, Game Design, Product, and Engineering) to prioritize initiatives that drive the most business value. Partner with relevant AI Stakeholders to integrate AI training and enablement into the functional training roadmap across disciplines. Content Design & Craft Specialization: Partner with internal Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to design training interventions that are technically accurate, culturally relevant, and optimized for high-retention learning. Curate and manage craft-specific learning paths within our training platforms (e.g., Cornerstone, Pluralsight). Scale a "Peers Teaching Peers" culture designing with internal knowledge sharing in mind, reducing reliance on external vendors through collaborative learning programs. ROI & Performance Analytics: Move beyond tracking simple completion rates to focus primarily on performance outcomes and behavioral change. Provide the Discipline Councils with data-backed proof of how L&D investments are moving the needle on organizational "Readiness" and craft excellence. What You Bring: 8+ years of experience in Technical Training, Instructional Design, or Talent Development, preferably within the gaming, tech, or creative industries. Deep expertise in adult learning principles. This person must be able to design comprehensive learning interventions that ensure skill transfer and long-term retention in a fast-paced environment. Experience building and delivering programs from concept to daily use at scale. Passion for continuous improvement and evolving the "craft" of learning. Experience with the Cornerstone on Demand platform or other Learning Managem