Head of Art

About Offworld:

Offworld Industries Ltd. (Offworld) is the independent studio behind the successful military first-person shooter game, “Squad”. Offworld was formed in 2014 by more than 15 developers who had worked together on the well known Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2. The founding purpose of the team was to bring a standalone successor of this acclaimed mod to market and build a game development studio and a livelihood from that foundation.

Fast forward to 2024, Offworld has over 140 employees and is rapidly growing. We have been expanding the studio into serving as a publisher supporting mods and have just released our new title into early access, "Starship Troopers: Extermination", a 16-player PvE first-person shooter based on the 1997 cult-classic film.

We are built on passion, unified spirit and continuing efforts to break the mold. We strive to become a leader in creating large-scale multiplayer games as well as supplying others with the ability to do the same. With a focus on pushing boundaries and harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5, we strive to deliver groundbreaking visuals and gameplay mechanics that redefine the industry standards. We are seeking a talented and experienced individual to lead our art team as the Head of Art, bringing unparalleled expertise in Unreal Engine 5 to drive the artistic vision of our projects.

Position Overview

As the Head of Art, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the visual identity and artistic direction of our games and how the studio takes advantage of the tools provided by Unreal 5. You will lead the entire art team at the studio through mentorship and direction provided to each of the game team Art Leads. You will collaborate closely with other departments to ensure the seamless integration of art assets into our game environments. Your expertise in Unreal Engine 5 will be instrumental in optimizing workflows, implementing cutting-edge techniques, and pushing the boundaries of graphical fidelity to deliver stunning visuals that captivate players.

Job Duties:

• Oversee all art disciplines including Character Art, Hard Surface Art, Environment Art, Concept Art, Animation, and Visual Effects.
• Manage Art Leads and external art outsourcing groups, fostering positive morale and high quality standards across all the art disciplines.
• Develop and implement art pipelines, tools, and workflows optimized for Unreal Engine 5 to streamline production and achieve efficient asset integration.
• Stay abreast of the latest developments in Unreal Engine 5 and emerging trends in the industry, leveraging this knowledge to continuously enhance the quality and innovation of our games.
• Provide effective feedback across all art disciplines through the Art Leads on each game team, with the goal of motivating, mentoring and supporting the art team.
• Develop and advocate for the artistic vision across all games within the studio, collaborating with the Senior Marketing Manager and managing the Lead Artists contributions.
• Implement best practices and utilize the latest technologies for art ideation and creation.
• Establish and streamline creative and technical workflows across projects and ensure proper process documentation and strive for continued optimizations and improvements.
• Serve as the main contact for artists regarding aesthetic and technical considerations for all artwork.
• Translate the art needs of each game into a strong art direction that strategically considers the visual appeal and the art’s impact on the player experience and meets the technical performance requirements of the game.
• Assist in maintaining art schedules with the production team and ensuring timelines are met.

Managerial Competencies:

• Proven experience in plotting coherent career trajectories for oneself and others.
• Extensive hands-on experience as an Art Director on critical and commercial game titles.
• Mentoring artists at all levels and fostering the growth of young talent.
• Managing the recruitment process for top art talent.
• Conducting regular check-in meetings with the art department and direct reports.
• Ability to give and receive feedback professionally.
• Directing and supporting artists across multiple disciplines.

Requirements:

• 5+ years of 3D game art production experience for Unreal engine, including art quality assurance and outsourcing quality assurance experience.
• At least one shipped Unreal game title in a Lead Artist/Art Director role.
• Proficiency in Unreal Engine and understanding of its art pipelines, capacities, and technical constraints.
• Expertise in Unreal Engine 5, including a deep understanding of its rendering pipeline, lighting systems, material authoring, and optimization techniques.
• 2+ years of leadership or management experience.
• Strong organizational and communication skills for effective collaboration with internal and external team members.
• Ability to convey artistic concepts and goals verbally or visually.
• Excellent understanding of art, animation, and visual effects pipelines, with a knack for identifying and suggesting improvements.
• Proficiency in industry-standard 2D and 3D applications such as Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Photoshop etc.
• Familiarity with bleeding-edge art techniques.
• Excellent leadership and teamwork skills, with previous experience in team leading.
• Previous experience in building live game services.
• Passionate about games and plays games in spare time.
  

Experience:

• End-to-end game development experience as a Lead Artist/Art Director.
• Shipped at least 3 titles.
• Unreal Engine 4 experience. Unreal Engine 5 experience is nice to have.
• Demonstrated experience as an Art Director with leadership involvement in at least one shipped project.
• Experience with outsourcing and co-development.

This is a full-time permanent position.

The typical salary range for this position is $110,000 to 150,000 CAD per year and is subject to change. The final agreed upon salary may vary based on factors such as job-related knowledge, skills and experience.

This role offers:

• Extended health and dental benefits
• Wellness and health spending accounts
• Retirement savings plan
• 3 weeks of paid vacation and 2 weeks of paid studio shutdown over the December holiday period
• Wonderful colleagues!

If you meet the above qualifications, and Offworld sounds like the kind of company you want to be a part of, please apply now with a copy of your resume and cover letter.

Offworld is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical and/or mental handicap, financial ability or any other characteristic protected by law.