As Lead Community Manager at The Indie Stone, you will own the vision, strategy, and execution of community engagement for our title, Project Zomboid. You’ll lead from the front and take onboard our current community needs as well as shaping how we connect with players. You will work to build and mentor a high performing community team, and ensure the voice of our players is clearly represented across the studio.

This role requires someone who can balance best in class community practices with what’s right for our players and our game, working closely with development and studio leadership to help the game continue to thrive.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Owning and evolving the community strategy across all channels (social, forums, Discord), ensuring alignment with studio goals.

• Leading and developing the community team, providing coaching, mentorship, and clear direction from day one.

• Acting as the voice of the player and within the studio and vice versa; translating sentiment, trends, and feedback into balanced, actionable insight.

• Partnering closely with developers and leadership to balance community needs, studio priorities, and long term vision.

• Overseeing the creation of on brand, engaging, and lore aligned content that resonates with the Project Zomboid community

• Driving and owning community initiatives (events, campaigns, AMAs, competitions) from concept through execution.

• Establishing and tracking KPIs and success metrics, using data to inform decisions and continuously improve engagement.

• Proactively identifying risks, issues, and opportunities within the community and taking ownership of outcomes.

• Staying ahead of industry trends as well as changes in legislation and introducing innovative approaches to community building

What We’re Looking For:

• Proven experience leading and growing a community management function or team within games

• Strong leadership, coaching, and mentorship skills, with the ability to develop others and set high standards.

• Experience working cross functionally, particularly with development teams and senior stakeholders.

• Deep understanding of community dynamics, player behaviour, and engagement strategies.

• Confidence using data and insights to guide decisions and demonstrate impact.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone to suit the Project Zomboid universe.

• Familiarity with Project Zomboid or similar sandbox/survival communities (highly desirable, not essential).

What You Bring

• A leadership mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

• The ability to balance best practice with pragmatism, making the right calls for the studio and its players.

• A collaborative approach, bringing together teams across disciplines.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to operate effectively in a dynamic environment.

• Genuine enthusiasm for games and player communities.

• Be lovely.