Senior Environment Artist

Blind Squirrel games is looking for a Senior Environment Artist to join us in creating immersive environment art for a sci-fi action shooter based off a prized IP.

Supported by the Art Director, the Senior Environment Artist is responsible for helping to craft visually stunning 3D environments and harnessing the productivity of their team to deliver high-quality assets and locations that align with the project’s artistic style, design requirements, and technical parameters.

The ideal candidate for this role has experience in modelling and texturing for sci-fi games and can translate a thorough understanding of the environment art pipeline into consistent deliverables that meet project expectations and deadlines.

This is a full-time position available to work remotely, hybrid, or based out of one of our studios located in Irvine, Austin, and Auckland.

The annual salary range being considered for this position is $87,000 - $130,500.

SENIOR ARTISTS AT BSG...

You are considered a master of your craft and have the leadership qualities necessary to pass that knowledge down while completing your own independent work. You're already spent multiple years as a senior, indirectly mentoring your peers and gradually becoming the "go- to" person for input on and solutions to both internal and external matters. You have experience leading teams across various AAA titles and have solid cross-discipline exposure.

In addition to influencing the project's artistic design, you also set the bar and are responsible for the productivity of your team, meaning you do not shy away from the accountability that comes with a supervisory role. You are a clear communicator and are an expert at providing actionable feedback without making anyone cry!

Responsibilities

1. Define quality and style across all environments alongside the Art Director
2. Provide direction and feedback to environment artists to ensure quality and style consistency
3. Work closely with adjacent departments to identify asset schedule, correcting course and mitigating bottlenecks as needed
4. Review work for quality and carry our various supervisory tasks for the Environment Art department
5. Partner with production to maintain a clear and realistic schedule

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Minimum 5 years' experience in game development as an artist specializing in Environment Art
• At least one shipped AAA title as a Senior Environment Artist
• Portfolio demonstrating ability to design and craft believable landscapes and environment assets

Preferred Skills

• Expertise with PBR, lighting, rendering, and material authoring
• Pro-active in clearly communicating issues to the team and seeking solutions
• Excellent leadership and mentoring abilities with hands-on experience leading creative teams
• Intimate knowledge of the environment art pipeline, dependencies, and overall project scope
• Well-organized and possess strong time-management skills
• Passion for 3D environment art, set dressing, lighting, and texturing
• Advanced understanding of Maya, Photoshop, Substance Designer/Painter, and Zbrush
• Strong foundational skills, including composition, design, structure, silhouette, and color theory
• Proficient with project management/task tracking software like Jira

Pluses

• Experience in creating environments for sci-fi games
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine 5
• Additional skills in illustration, animation, visual effects, or technical art