Principal Character Artist - Infinity Ward

Come work with the team behind Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® and Call of Duty®: Warzone™. Infinity Ward is seeking an experienced Principal Character Artist to help define and deliver world-class character experiences for one of the industry's most iconic franchises. This role is based in our Woodland Hills office and follows an onsite work schedule of Monday through Friday.

About the role

In this role, you will create high-fidelity, photorealistic characters while driving artistic excellence, mentoring fellow artists, and helping shape character art pipelines and best practices across the studio. The ideal candidate is a highly skilled character artist with deep expertise in realistic character creation, a passion for authenticity, and a proven track record shipping AAA console or PC titles.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Art Directors, Producers, Animators, and Technical Artists to deliver high-quality character assets that support immersive player experiences.
• Create compelling, realistic characters, clothing, gear, and accessories that meet quality, performance, and scalability requirements.
• Research and apply extensive knowledge of military uniforms, equipment, and tactical gear to ensure authenticity and attention to detail.
• Independently execute high-level creative direction while proactively identifying solutions and opportunities for improvement.
• Serve as a quality champion and trusted expert for character art performance, efficiency, and visual fidelity.
• Mentor and support fellow artists through constructive feedback, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
• Advocate for best practices, pipeline improvements, and workflow efficiencies across character art production.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure art goals, technical requirements, and production plans are clearly understood and executed.
• Contribute innovative ideas and creative solutions throughout game development.

Requirements

• 15+ years of professional experience as a Character Artist in game development, with a strong emphasis on realistic character creation.
• Exceptional portfolio demonstrating expertise in photorealistic character art, including organic and hard-surface modeling, clothing, equipment, materials, and texturing.
• Experience shipping AAA console and/or PC titles, ideally within the first-person shooter genre.
• Advanced proficiency with industry-standard tools such as Maya or 3ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, and Substance Painter/Designer.
• Deep understanding of game art pipelines, real-time production workflows, and modern game engines.
• Strong knowledge of human anatomy, clothing construction, form, silhouette, and proportion.
• Expert understanding of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) workflows and rendering techniques.
• Experience creating assets for modern console and PC platforms.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to thrive in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, and evolving development environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with scan-based character creation workflows and photogrammetry technologies.
• Strong understanding of contemporary game art trends and visual storytelling.
• Experience contributing to or defining character art standards, pipelines, and production processes.
• Previous leadership, mentorship, or principal-level experience within a AAA development environment.

About Infinity Ward

Founded in 2002, Infinity Ward is the original studio behind the Call of Duty® franchise. The titles developed by Infinity Ward have won more than 200 "Game of the Year" awards and 100 "Editor's Choice" awards. Some of our previous titles include: Call of Duty®: Ghosts, Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare and most recently, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward employs more than 250 people in Woodland Hills, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance.
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching.
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave.
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others.
• Relocation assistance if required to move geographic locations for the job.

Pay

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $136,880.00 - $253,260.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation.