Art Director (North America)

Mindwalk Studios is a leading digital art & animation studio under Keywords Studios, providing CG outsourcing services for the gaming industry’s top-tier developers. Founded in 2004 we were added to the Keywords suite of global studios in 2016. Over nearly 20 years in business, we engage with partners such as ZeniMax, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft Game Studios on a varied range of beloved global properties delivering on all major platforms, such as Halo, Gears of War, Forza, It Takes Two, Destiny, Starfield etc.

At Mindwalk- A Keywords Studio, you’ll be working on world-famous assets and demanding, high-skill artwork for AAA-grade game projects. You’ll be working with all the same tools and processes as top global game development companies while earning name credits on blockbuster game titles played by millions. We pride ourselves on our open management structure and warm, family-like culture. We emphasize teamwork and a fun environment that we hope brings the best out in all our employees.

As our studio continues to grow, we are looking to appoint an experienced Art Director to continue to drive our well-established operations in the North American market. In this position, you will work very closely with our North American-based clients to set the artistic vision for their projects and act as the interface with our China-based production team to ensure that our client’s needs are met to the highest possible standards.

We are looking for a person who is passionate about 3D art, the ‘big picture’ of art direction, and knows how to extrapolate on creative direction notes to keep asset production ‘on look’ and cohesive. You will be comfortable moving from style to style and identifying the key stylistic characteristics across a variety of projects. You will also be comfortable with the language of art direction and can confidently give feedback as well as ask the right questions of the team or the client.

This role is offered as fully remote.

Some of the cool stuff you’ll be doing:

• Interface directly with clients to understand their needs and form a solid working relationship
• Understand client’s requirements and artistic style of various projects. Provide art guidance for the Production team in China
• Responsible/answer to the client for the visual direction and QC of work
• Help with estimation, team feedback, and pipeline development
• Define and communicate the key components of the project style and design
• Collaborate with different 3D Art teams, and coordinate resources and projects between multiple internal Chinese and external teams and studios
• Continually look for opportunities to innovate and improve the visual quality on all projects

Requirements

What you’ll bring to the table:

• Passionate about games with a proven 3+ years of professional art leadership experience in the games industry
• Strong game production work experience showcasing top-quality work
• Ability to work in multiple software packages and game engines (i.e. 3DS Max, Maya, Zbrush, Unreal, Unity)
• Expert understanding of industry-standard techniques and tools
• Excellent communication skills, with an understanding of the value of listening as well as providing feedback, and the confidence to ask the right questions
• Team Player, quick learner, and self-motivated
• Have an understanding of up-to-date game development technical processes, take a keen interest in the latest workflows, and have an interest in learning, evaluating, and evangelizing appropriate usage of new software, tools, and technologies

Bonus points:

• Experience working with Chinese-based art production teams
• Mandarin language skills
• Previous experience working with for Art outsource provider and/or experience managing remote art production teams

Benefits

What’s in it for you?

In addition to working for one of the leading Art Services providers in the games industry, we are also able to offer the following benefits:

• Fully remote work environment
• Salary range based on experience but expected to be between $70K – $90K USD
• Competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Voluntary long-term & short-term disability insurance
• 401K with company matching
• Ability to work on multiple AAA IP’s
• The opportunity to build or expand your career the way you want to, in a smaller studio connected to a global studio family

Mindwalk is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection processes and work environments. Please let us know of any accommodations needed to ensure you have access to a fair and equitable process.

Role Information: EN

Studio: Mindwalk Studios

Location: Americas, United States, North Carolina

Area of Work: Art Services

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Working Pattern: Remote
Keywords Studios