Lead Character Artist

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the character art team in the creation of high-quality character models.
• Collaborate with the Art Director to define the visual style of characters.
• Sculpt, model, and texture characters to meet the artistic and technical requirements of the project.
• Create and maintain character pipeline documentation for training and onboarding.
• Proactively identify risks in character art production timelines and effectively communicate risks to Production and Directors.
• Mentor and provide feedback to other character artists.
• Ensure character assets are optimized for performance and memory usage.
• Work closely with rigging, animation, and technical art teams to ensure characters are ready for implementation.
• Stay current with industry trends and techniques in character art.

Core Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in character art within the video game industry.
• Strong proficiency in Maya, ZBrush, and Substance Painter.
• Significant experience in Unreal Engine.
• Excellent understanding of anatomy, form, and silhouette.
• Experience with PBR and hand-painted texturing workflows.
• Proven track record of creating high-quality character models for AAA titles.
• Ability to lead a team and work collaboratively across departments.

Plus if...

• Experience with character rigging and skinning.
• Knowledge of Marvelous Designer or similar tools for clothing simulation.
• Experience with rigid body dynamics and cloth simulation in Unreal Engine.
• Previous work in a leadership role on a major game title.

Benefits

Full-time job with benefits. Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA. Office is located near downtown Santa Monica – near metro and freeway.

The base pay range for this position is $170,000 to $200,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.