# Juan Vaca > Story Director, The Coalition Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/juanvaca Emmy winning storyteller able to quickly adapt, prioritize, and lead in dynamic creative environments. Exceptional at delivering polished and market-leading interactive experiences with Xbox, Netflix, DreamWorks Animation, NBC Universal, DC, Marvel, and Telltale Games. In-depth knowledge of industry trends in interactive storytelling, with a genuine passion for creatively advancing the medium. ## Work Experience ### Story Director @ The Coalition Studio Jan 2022 – Present - Collaborate with the Creative Director and product stakeholders to establish the game’s story vision. - Create a strategy to craft characters, world and story, in collaboration with narrative teams and key partners. - Identify opportunities for innovation in storytelling that support and enhance the product goals. - Guide narrative teams and cross discipline groups through the process of building a story from concept to execution. - Champion and communicate the vision for the story and narrative clearly to all areas of the team. - Establish best practices for story iteration and documentation. - Partner with production and leadership teams to establish key deliverables and roadmaps. ### Product Designer @ Netflix Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 Initiate, define and lead innovation initiatives and projects from concept to completion. Collaborate with a team of designers, prototypers, and content producers to explore, test, and evolve interactive experiences. Explore concepts, building from storyboards, wireframes and prototypes to detailed specs and polished visual designs. Develop and maintain positive relationships with Project Manager, Content, Engineering and Consumer Insights partners. Establish interactive point-of-view and help cross-functional teams understand the vision and goals. ### Narrative Designer @ Netflix Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 Design Lead: - Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure - We Lost Our Human - You vs. Wild: Out Cold - Boss Baby: Get That Baby! - Spirit: Ride Along - Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie - Last Kids on Earth: Happy Apocalypse to You Provide technical and narrative design feedback in conjunction with content executives at key milestones throughout production of interactive titles. Serve as a liaison between the content teams and external content producers and provide narrative design support and guidance as needed. Onboard external content producers and provide context and support regarding the interactive story framework and internal tooling. Establish and maintain healthy working relationships with internal organizational partners including Product Management, Design, and Content. ### Narrative Designer @ Endless Entertainment Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Oakland Develop and maintain the narrative design for multiple episodic series: - Saved By the Bell - Sixteen Candles - Law and Order Participate and lead writer's room. Establish character roleplaying rails, player goals and motivations, choice paths, and interactivity Collaborate with the narrative director and lead writer in story development. Maintain and organize design documentation. ### Narrative Designer @ Telltale Games Jan 2013 – Jan 2018 | United States Game Developer. Assistant Producer: The Wolf Among Us: 101 The Walking Dead: 106, 201, 202, 203, Season 1 Vita, Vita: Japan Tales from the Borderlands: 101, 102, 103. Creative Assistant: Tales from the Borderlands: 104, 105 Batman 101, 102 Narrative Designer: Batman 103, 104, 105, 205 Minecraft Story Mode: 204 (Lead), 205 The Walking Dead: 303, 304, 305, 401 ### Intern @ Marvel Studios Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 | Manhattan Beach, CA - Playtest various game prototypes and submit feedback for playability, brand assurance, and other inaccuracies. - Review game design documents for narrative cohesion and continuity, often generating new creative content to enhance player experience. - Develop in-game scenarios within a game’s core mechanic to augment character fiction during development. - Conduct research within Marvel Universe to supplement current projects with findings. ### Creative Trainer @ Apple Inc Jan 2007 – Jan 2011 - Provided personal one-on-one training and group workshops on various Apple hardware and Mac OS software to users of various experience, age and culture. - Developed and maintained a technical validation program to increase knowledge base of team members by working with team members to identify their needs and those of our customer base. - Maintained daily operations schedule and adapted to unexpected changes in order to complete team‘s daily tasks. ### Senior Instructor / Team Leader @ United States Marine Corps Jan 2004 – Jan 2007 | Quantico, VA - Designed, organized, and implemented the training curriculum for instructor staff and officers in training which allowed for less supervision, and increased available resources. - Coordinated and supervised logistic operations for military training exercises on live-fire ranges. - Represented as subject matter expert for various public exhibitions and displays. ### Scout Sniper @ United States Marine Corps Jan 1999 – Jan 2004 | Camp Lejeune, NC - Operated weapons and equipment in combat operations. - Provided sniper support, surveillance and reconnaissance for the battalion. - Established standard operating procedures for platoon training. - Supervised for the care and well-being of subordinates. ## Education ### Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Entertainment University of Southern California ### Associate of Arts in Computer Gaming and Simulation Montgomery College ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/juanvaca --- Source: https://flows.cv/juanvaca JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/juanvaca/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13