Research & Development Specialist

Gamer's Choice is a team of passionate gamers, creators, and innovators based in Queens, New York. What began as a small local shop has grown into one of the leading destinations for Trading Card Game players and collectors around the world. We're driven by a shared love for gaming and community, offering both an engaging online experience and a vibrant in-store atmosphere. Our mission is to be the ultimate home for fans to connect, compete, and celebrate the games they love. While Yu-Gi-Oh! has always been our foundation, we're expanding into exciting new titles like Pokémon, One Piece, Riftbound, and Disney Lorcana. Our Long Island City store serves as the heart of our community, hosting tournaments, events, and gatherings that bring players together both in person and online.

Location: Long Island City, Queens, New York
Schedule: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Reports to: Chief of Staff
Compensation: $65,000 - $85,000 annually (DOE)

Role Overview
We're looking for a sharp, action-oriented strategist to own the pipeline of new revenue opportunities across livestream, ecommerce, retail, and emerging digital platforms for Gamer's Choice. This is a high-visibility, high-impact individual contributor role working directly with executive leadership. You'll be responsible for identifying what's next for the business and making it happen.

In this role, you will own:

• Market and competitive intelligence for the TCG and live commerce space, and translate insights into concrete opportunities for the business.
• Business case development for new initiatives, including market sizing, financial modeling, operational requirements, risk assessment, and presenting clear go/no-go recommendations to leadership.
• Cross-functional discovery and scoping process with stream, fulfillment, marketing, retail, and operations to ensure top opportunities are feasible and execution-ready.
• Performance tracking and post-mortems for launched initiatives, surfacing what's working, what isn't, and recommended next steps.

Qualifications
Required

• At least 2 years of experience in strategy, business development, consulting, or similarly analytical roles
• Proven ability to take an opportunity from a vague idea to a structured business case and clear leadership recommendation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; can present concise, point-of-view-driven recommendations.
• Comfortable working in a fast-changing, high-growth environment and moving quickly from concept to live test.
• Comfort with data/BI tools and AI tools for research, synthesis, and writing.

Preferred

• Experience in TCGs, collectibles, gaming, or adjacent digital communities.
• Experience with e-commerce, live commerce, or creator-driven businesses (Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Whatnot, etc.)
• Experience in a high-growth startup or consumer brand environment.

Within the first 12 months, the Research & Development Specialist is expected to:

30 Days

• Develop a working understanding of how Gamer's Choice operates across stream, fulfillment, marketing, retail, and ecommerce, and know the owner for each key area.
• Deliver a documented view of the competitive landscape in TCG and live commerce (who we should watch and why).
• Surface and present at least 3 fast, actionable opportunities to leadership, backed by clear research and analysis.

60 Days

• Maintain a prioritized pipeline of at least 5-10 vetted opportunities with initial business cases (market sizing, upside, operational requirements, risks).
• For the top 2 opportunities, partner with functional leads to build execution-ready briefs with clear hypotheses, success metrics, owners, and a timeline.
• Demonstrate bias for speed by keeping time from 'idea' to 'decision-ready brief' to 2 weeks or less for most opportunities.

90 Days

• Drive at least 2 initiatives from idea to live test with clearly defined, pre-agreed success metrics.
• Design tests to get a signal within 30 days, with clear go/no-go criteria.
• Leadership reports confidence in this person's judgment on which opportunities to advance or end.

12 Months

• At least 2 initiatives move beyond test into scaled deployment and deliver a material revenue or profit lift vs. baseline.
• Maintain an updated competitive/market landscape refreshed quarterly and referenced in major strategic decisions.
• In at least 70% of cases, recommendations result in a clear go/no-go decision in one leadership meeting.

Benefits

• Health Insurance
• Dental & Vision Coverage
• Paid time off
• 401k
• Employee Discounts
• Gym Membership Reimbursements

EEO/AAP Statement: Gamer's Choice is an equal opportunity employer. We acknowledge and honor the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals. We pledge ourselves to crafting and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences. Gamer's Choice is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

The above-noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned, but rather to give the applicant a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of this position. As the nature of business demands change, so, too, may the essential functions of the position.