Associate Art Director - 3D Character Art (Unpublished R&D Product)

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Associate Art Director - 3D Character Art to lead the character art discipline on a AAA game project. In this role, you will be responsible for setting the artistic vision, ensuring exceptional visual quality, and building a high-performing character art team capable of delivering world-class assets at scale.

From early prototyping through pre-production and full production, you will guide the character art team to deliver compelling player characters, creatures, gear, and cosmetics that balance artistic excellence, gameplay readability, and technical performance. You will collaborate closely with Art Direction, Design, Production, and Engineering to elevate the overall player experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and own the artistic quality and execution of 3D Character Art for a AAA game project.
• Define and evolve the character art style through in-game assets, style guides, best practices, and clear team communication.
• Build, manage, mentor, and grow a highly functional Character Art team aligned with studio values and production goals.
• Partner with Recruiting to hire top-tier artists and scale the team as the project progresses.
• Create high-quality benchmark assets, including player characters, creatures, gear, clothing, organic and hard-surface elements.
• Collaborate with Concept Artists to establish efficient, production-ready concept pipelines and workflows.
• Work cross-discipline with Art, Design, Production, and Engineering to ensure character art supports gameplay clarity and technical constraints.
• Maintain a strong understanding of technical considerations such as poly budgets, draw calls, texture memory, modularity, LODs, and performance optimization.
• Develop outsourcing strategies, pipelines, and documentation to support internal and external production partners.
• Partner with Production to ensure clear visibility into team deliverables, timelines, and velocity.
• Foster a healthy, inclusive, and high-performing team culture, addressing team health and performance proactively.
• Act as a mentor and career coach, supporting the professional growth of artists on your team.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in game development, preferably on AAA titles.
• 4+ years of experience managing people and performance.
• Proven experience leading character art teams from concept through full production.
• Demonstrated success in building and scaling Character Art teams.
• Experience designing production-ready pipelines, workflows, and standards from the ground up.
• Strong background in stylized art for games.
• Professional experience with modern stylized PBR workflows.
• Hands-on experience with modern game engines such as Unreal Engine, Unity, or proprietary engines.
• Advanced proficiency with industry-standard tools including Maya, 3ds Max, Substance Painter/Designer, and related 2D/3D software.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience working on live-service or long-term AAA productions.
• Experience managing international outsourcing partners.
• A portfolio demonstrating both high-quality character art and leadership impact

Why Join Us

• Work on a high-ambition AAA game project with global reach.
• Lead and shape a world-class Character Art team.
• Collaborate with experienced developers across multiple disciplines.
• Competitive compensation and benefits based on experience.