Lead Environment Artist

Job description

Position SummaryAs the Lead Environment Artist, you’ll lead a team of talented artists to create captivating 3D stylized environments within an immersive JRPG world waiting to be explored. You’ll lead, manage, and inspire a team of talented environment artists to become visual storytellers, delivering high-quality environments, props, assets, and modular kits. You have an understanding and knowledge of composition, color, lighting, and detail to develop a game space with plenty of personality while ensuring the team can track towards their milestones and creative goals confidently and effectively.

The Lead Environment Artist will work closely with the Art Director and Art Producer to help manage and organize the art team, workflows, and assets, working with other Leads and Directors to execute the game’s vision.

About UsOur mission at Riyo Games is to craft retro-infused JRPGs that awaken cherished childhood memories. We’re growing the studio by assembling a dream team of talent from across the globe. Join us on this epic quest to make fun, narrative-rich games in an inclusive, supportive, and fun studio environment!

You’ll be working on Threads of Time, a 2.5D JRPG inspired by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy where you get to travel from the pre-historic era to the end of time!

• Become part of a veteran team that includes legendary developers who led iconic titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles, Legend of Mana, and more

• 4 weeks paid vacation (1 week of which is taken in late December)

• Collaborative environment with opportunities to contribute to the game’s creative design and take ownership of features

• Competitive salary and benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance

• Opportunities to help you strengthen your skills or learn something new

• A workplace that appreciates and values diversity and inclusivity

Leadership• Organize and manage the environment art team

• Manage performance reviews and conduct regular 1:1s with team members to mentor and inspire, define development opportunities, and ensure alignment

• Regularly meet with the Art Director and Producers to review and track deliverables to ensure milestones are being delivered at the desired quality

• Review, validate, and supervise the environments, props and assets created, ensuring they meet the game’s art direction and quality, meet the performance and optimization needs, and match the game design metrics and requirements

Responsibilities• Foster a healthy and positive workspace and environment for teammates and across adjacent disciplines

• Create stylized 3D environments, 2.5D assets, modular kits and props from Concept Art, Director and Lead guidance, and descriptions

• Work closely with the Art Director to ensure that environments and assets match the quality bar and vision for the game

• Bring life and excitement to the game through your design and implementation of high-quality, stylized 3D environments and 2.5D assets, working with talented Pixel and Texture Artists

• Maintain both aesthetic quality and technical performance standards (polycount, memory, pixel density, scale and metrics, texture constraints, draw calls, etc.)

• Build and compose scenes in Unreal Engine by leveraging existing assets, identifying new asset creation and modular kit style workflows

• Propose and establish optimized pipelines for improving quality and production efficiency

• Work with Game Designers to create and adjust environments based on gameplay needs

• Contribute exciting and inspiring ideas toward the game’s visual identity and development, collaborating with other disciplines such as narrative, game design, character art, etc.

Qualifications• A minimum of 7-10 years of experience in 3D modeling and asset creation, environment layout, and working with level design in the video game industry

• A minimum of 3-5 years working in Unreal Engine

• Experience managing a team of artists; 1:1s, performance reviews, scrums, etc.

• Mastery of working in stylized art style/direction and workflows

• Experience and knowledge of pixel art techniques and styles

• Excellent proficiency with industry-standard art tools such as Blender, 3DS Max, Maya

• Strong modelling, UV unwrapping, and texturing skills

• Knowledge of the technical constraints relating to real-time, 3D engines, and level editors

• Advanced knowledge and experience of industry-standard fundamentals of art (lighting, composition, colour theory, etc)

• Good industry standard best practices such as asset organization and adherence to naming conventions

• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and professionalism

• Familiar with production tools and systems like Jira, Confluence, Scrums, Agile, etc.

• Shipped at least 1 game title

• A love of JRPGs

Salary: $100,000 - $120,000 CAD

Please note that although this is a full-time remote position, applicants must reside in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, or British Columbia or be willing to relocate.

Maybe you think that your experience is not where it should be? Or you don’t meet every requirement listed in this job description? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t think they meet every qualification. But we feel that creating meaningful work means embracing different perspectives, which is why at Riyo Games we are focused on building an equitable, diverse, and inclusive studio. If your experience is not perfectly aligned with every requirement in this job description, but you’re interested in this position, we encourage you to apply anyway. We simply want to know what makes you special!

Riyo Games welcomes and encourages applications from candidates with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in the selection process. If you require disability-related accommodation during the recruitment process, please email contact@riyogames.com. We will consult with all applicants who request disability-related accommodation during the recruitment process to ensure that the accommodation provided takes into account the applicant's individual accessibility needs.

Thank you, we look forward to hearing from you!