2K Games Dublin
Fast Track Graduate Programmes
Publishing & Engineering Programmes
Who We Are
2K Games Dublin is a hub focused on performance marketing, commercial strategy, product development & design, data engineering and data science/analytics and is part of the 2K Games group of companies.
2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming devices and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets. 2K is a leading publisher of today’s most popular gaming genres and most well-known for critically acclaimed game franchises like NBA 2K, WWE 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Evolve, XCOM and the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization.
Who We Recruit
We look for graduates from all backgrounds to work in all areas of our business. The 2K team has come from a range of backgrounds including: science, economics, IT, marketing, engineering, philosophy, psychology and business.
How We Recruit
A lot of companies have ‘fun’ and ‘quirky’ processes for deciding who gets onto their graduate programme. We keep our recruitment process short and straightforward, assessing for the things that we know are critical to success in our company.
We hire graduates who have an aptitude for analytical thinking, 80% of our hiring decision is based on a test that looks at three essential qualities:
- Quantitative skills
- Qualitative skills
- The ability to learn new things
If you have these aptitudes you’ll thrive at 2K. So, we encourage you to apply for our graduate programme.
The recruitment process is split into four stages:
- Application with CV Review
- Group Scoping Call to Explain the Process & Role in further detail
- Task Stage (Completed over a time period at home)
- Final Interview
Why Work With Us
We want our team to do their best work at 2K, to challenge themselves, and to learn and grow in their roles. So, we invest in our staff. You will learn directly from our senior management, they’ll spend a lot of time sharing their skills and experience with the team.
Graduate Programme Intakes & Timelines:
The next Publishing & Engineering intakes will begin their job in July 2023. We will run recruitment from September 2022 to June 2023 for these candidates.
Fast Track Publishing Graduate Programme
Compensation and opportunities
The starting salary for the graduate programme is €35,000, with salary reviews every six months. If you start the grad programme today, you could be making €70,000 in three years.
As well as the salary, we offer private medical insurance, dental insurance, pension scheme, income protection, monthly fitness allowance, work phone, wellness schemes, an office gym and other benefits. Our office looks out on Iveagh Gardens, in the heart of Dublin city.
Subsequent to the graduate programme there will be many opportunities within the organisation for future permanent roles. Our graduates go on to do amazing things for 2K. Past graduates are working on exciting things such as managing €3 million a month in ad spend, machine learning or helping design our games with advanced user research.
Graduate Training Programme
Our graduate programme will begin in July 2023 and it is a 21-month programme.
Rotation System:
The graduate programme operates on a set of 7 rotations. One of these rotations will be based in one of our international 2K offices. The rotations are similar for all employees albeit they happen in different orders depending on business priorities:
Core Skills: This is the first rotation. Everyone is given a core set of skills, and training, required to operate in the business. This will include a lot of Excel training along with other hard skills, explainers on how each of the ad platforms operate and day-to-day management of how to effectively operate in a work environment.
Marketing Operations: This is the core rotation which you will likely do 2 - 3 times. However, at each stage you will be operating at a higher level. So, by the time month 13 comes along there will be new graduates underneath you. The primary purpose of this rotation is advertising on major digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, DoubleClick, Google Ads, etc.
Technology: In order to develop technical skills, you will perform a rotation within the Marketing Technology function. Here you will learn how the internet functions, how e-Commerce operates technically, and how technology can be set-up to enable marketing optimisation.
Growth: This can include teams such as the Analytics team and the Commercial team. This can range from working on the development of a profit and Loss for a new game to advanced data science on how customers operate.
Product Development: This can include teams such as the Live Services team who control the in-game currency in our major games.
The international rotation will be in one of three locations, London, San Francisco or Singapore. Each graduate will go on a rotation (COVID and VISA dependent). This rotation covers the cost of accommodation and a per diem for living, so it is truly a unique one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Training Outcome
Our goal is to equip every grad with three fundamental skill sets; analytical, technical and commercial. Very few people possess all three, but they are all essential to success in a digital economy. We want to work with smart people who have the potential to develop these skills.
Personal Development:
While we are working through the rotation system, simultaneously, we will be expecting and training for a shift in approach & responsibility.
Months 1-3: On the job training with management.
You’ll be given realistic tasks and challenges to complete.
You’ll be managing €20,000 to €50,000 per month in advertising budget.
We’ll be watching your work closely, leading you step-by step.
Months 4-6: You could be managing your own performance marketing campaigns. This would be the case if your 2nd rotation was in the Marketing Operations team.
You’ll be managing €100,000 to €250,000 per month in advertising budget.
We’ll be watching your work closely, leading you step-by step.
Months 6-21 and Future Rotations: This is when things get interesting.
You’ll start to win arguments and influence our thinking on strategy.
We’ll start to change how we work based on your suggestions.
We’re serious about our graduate programme. Our graduates bring fresh perspectives and new ways of looking at problems. Their ideas should, and do, lead to company-wide changes in how we operate.
What Happens After the Grad Programme?
After 21 months, our graduates specialise and can go into specific permanent roles within the business. You might keep working on digital marketing, or you could move into marketing technology, or one of the more analytical teams.
By that point, you’ll be trained in everything from advanced Excel and reporting to every aspect of digital marketing, e-commerce and our unique approach to work and project management. Our approach to digital marketing touches on every aspect of a business, from pricing strategy to data analysis and sales, so you’ll be prepared to take on, and succeed in, any e-commerce role.
The goal of the graduate programme is to train the future leaders of the business. We are committed to hiring the best, training them, and creating a future path for them in their careers.
Desired Skills & Experience
- Highly numerate and strong analytical skills.
- Ability to quickly digest large amounts of data, perform analysis and identify trends to make business decisions based on data. Excel expertise is a bonus.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Self-Starter and quick learner. Confidence and ability to tackle new initiatives with little guidance.
- Minimum 2.1 Graduate degree, in addition to, a demonstrated ability to perform numerical analysis, for example a minimum C1 in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Mathematics.
How To Apply
Applications will be processed as they are received. Apply with CV and full information regarding academic grades.