Alicia Mirelez is the Director of Studio Operations at Magnopus. After graduating from CSUF with a B.A. in Business Administration, Entertainment & Tourism Management, she began her career in the video game industry as a legal coordinator. From there, she moved into production, where she worked on console and mobile titles. Upon joining Magnopus, Alicia supported engineering and project management on projects like Expo 2020 and Elixir, before transitioning into operations. Today, she partners with teams across finance, IT, HR, and recruiting to keep the studio running smoothly so our teams can focus on building and delivering exceptional experiences.
Tell us about your role at Magnopus!
I like to think of myself as the person behind the curtain: part operations problem-solver, part contract wrangler, part paperwork checker, and part keeper of random information.
I make sure the right people, paperwork, and partners are in place so our teams can keep building amazing experiences.
What three skills are essential for anyone in your role?
Curiosity (understanding the why), adaptability (making the most of what you have), and clear communication (turning complexity into something everyone can act on).
What’s been your proudest/standout moment while working at Magnopus?
It’s not a moment that’s just about me, but a collective one I’m grateful to have experienced many times. It’s when a project lands, and I look around to see everyone celebrating their own contribution and their teammates’. Everyone’s skills shape the final result, and those shared celebrations are what I’m proudest of.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career?
Credibility comes from fairness, consistency and competence – when you lead with those three things, everything else falls into place naturally.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
Getting outside and making memories. It might be a stroll through the local park or an afternoon at my favorite beach, where I love feeling the sun on my skin. Most of all, I love sharing time with friends and family, whether we’re talking for hours or heading off on an adventure.
What’s your superpower?
My friends would say real-life Tetris. On road trips, I take great joy in fitting impossible amounts of luggage, gear, and snacks into a car trunk, and I’ve never lost a round.
If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
I’d learn as many languages as I could, starting with relearning ASL. Communication creates connections, and more languages mean more of them.
What are you reading and listening to right now?
Recently finished: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones; The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon; and Stephen King’s & Peter Straub’s Other Worlds Than These.
Plus finished my second audio run-through of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl. Currently listening to the Dune saga for the second time, now on Children of Dune (Book 3). I recommend all of these.
If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?
With unlimited funding, I’d spend 25% of my time as a professional fun tester – riding rollercoasters, playing board games, test-driving cars, and trying new toys – anything that should have a spark of fun. The other 75% I’d spend building people-owned, people-led communities where members pool their skills and resources to support each other.
