Lead Character Artist

WE ARE GAMEMAKERS

Who We Are:

We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games.  We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.

Who You Are:

We're looking for a Lead Character Artist who is a communicative, passionate, and technical leader interested in owning a large part of visual development. You are an experienced, hands-on developer with strong expertise in the toolsets needed to develop characters for AAA titles, and someone who can extend that expertise through mentorship to a team of character artists. You should bring a clear artistic vision for the quality and substance of characters on screen and in gameplay, and be an easy collaborator and leadership partner across a variety of disciplines, including VFX, audio, animation, tech art, design, and more. 

Responsibilities:

• Drive the visual direction and quality bar for all character assets, collaborating with Art Leads and Directors to define visual identity, style guides, and documentation.
• Partner cross-functionally with Design, Animation, Tech Art, Rigging, VFX, and Audio to ensure characters meet gameplay, clarity, and technical standards.
• Review and guide work from our partner studio through feedback, paintovers, and clear documentation aligned with project specifications.
• Own character asset creation pipelines from sculpting and modeling (ZBrush/Maya) to texturing and integration in Unreal Engine 5, ensuring performance and presentation standards.
• Lead and mentor the character art team through feedback, reviews, and production planning in coordination with producers to track progress and adapt to shifting priorities.

Required Qualifications:

• A strong portfolio showcasing the ability to define and maintain a cohesive visual direction for character art, backed by proficiency in Maya, ZBrush, Substance and Photoshop.
• Strong cross-disciplinary communication skills, with experience collaborating closely with design, animation, tech art, rigging, VFX, and audio teams.
• Hands-on experience owning the character asset pipeline from high-poly sculpting and modeling to integration and optimization in Unreal Engine.
• Flexible in attending meetings to support collaboration across various time zones, including with our partner studio based in Europe.
• Experienced in mentoring artists, leading critiques, and partnering with production to track progress and adapt to shifting priorities, with fluency in task and asset management tools such as Jira, Shotgun/ShotGrid/Flow, or similar platforms.

Relevant Experience:

• Leadership or creative vision focused roles in new IP development.
• Experience developing characters for the AAA shooter market & modern PVP shooter gameplay.
• Unreal Engine expertise for pipeline management & utilization of in-engine toolsets to supplement character development.
  

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $148,000 and $175,000 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.
 
Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.
 
Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

SECURITY NOTICE -  We have recently been made aware of increasing occurrences of bad actors posing as company HR personnel to gain information from "potential candidates", in the form of job interviews and offers. These scams can be quite sophisticated and appear legitimate.

Please know that 31st Union and 2K never uses instant messaging apps to contact prospective employees or to conduct interviews.

If you believe you have been a victim of such a scam, you may fill out a complaint form at https://complaint.ic3.gov/ and https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ detailing as much as possible. We are taking these matters very seriously and apologize for any inconvenience.

Join our mission: Bring fun, inspiration and awe to our lives and to our community: https://thirtyfirstunion.com/values

31st Union prides itself on the diversity of its team members, partners, and communities.  For this reason, we remain committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all aspects of the employment relationship, from recruitment and hiring through compensation, benefits, discipline and termination.  This means that employment at 31st Union depends on your substantive ability, objective qualifications and work ethic – not on your age, race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), height, weight, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and expression), alienage or citizenship status, transgender, military or veteran status, physical or mental disability (actual or perceived), medical condition, AIDS/HIV, denial of family and medical care leave, genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, pregnancy status, childbirth, breastfeeding (or related medical conditions), marital status or registered domestic partner status, political activity or affiliation, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, arrest record, or taking or requesting statutorily protected leaves, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are also committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the job application and/or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.  Please contact us if you need to request a reasonable accommodation.

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