Lead Environment Artist

About the Company

Serbian game development studio behind Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival and Scars Above. Part of Saber Interactive, with teams in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Sarajevo working on action games for PC and consoles.

About the Role

Mad Head Games is looking for a Lead Environment Artist to shape environments on an unannounced AAA title, from blockout and lookdev to photorealistic final delivery. The role leads the Environment Art team and works across in-house and outsource teams in Unreal Engine 5.

Vacancy Details

Responsibilities

• Align Environment Art production with the project's art direction and priorities
• Work closely with level design from initial ideas through blockout to final polished delivery, ensuring gameplay, technical and art direction goals are met
• Act as the Environment Art point of contact across the project, representing the discipline in reviews and meetings
• Guide Environment Art production across the full pipeline, from blockout and concept interpretation through lookdev, asset creation, set dressing and final in-game delivery
• Develop and present lookdev proposals, art documentation, style guides and visual solutions
• Resolve challenging visual and technical areas while maintaining concept intent and delivering consistent in-game environments
• Own the quality of the team's output by providing regular feedback and approvals throughout production
• Test and iterate on levels in lookdev and in-game, regularly play builds and identify visual, material and performance issues
• Establish and continuously improve Environment Art pipelines, workflows and technical standards, including documentation and art guidelines
• Resolve technical issues, manage materials and shaders, and improve tools and workflows
• Manage outsource teams and their delivery, ensuring quality and alignment with project requirements
• Lead, mentor and support the Environment Art team through clear direction, feedback, one on one meetings and coaching
• Plan and schedule the team's work, including estimates, priorities, task distribution, capacity and risks, and monitor progress against the roadmap
• Contribute to recruitment, team structure and performance related decisions

Requirements

• Native or fluent English
• Experience building and leading a world class Environment Art team on a project where environments are central to the game experience
• Experience working with outsource teams
• Strong understanding of art, architecture and level design principles
• Strong knowledge of 3D software such as 3ds Max, Maya, Blender and ZBrush
• Strong understanding of PBR workflows and texturing software such as Substance Designer and Substance Painter
• Strong experience with Unreal Engine 5 and environment workflows
• Experience creating photorealistic, game ready environments, including set dressing and beautification
• Experience creating and maintaining art style guides and technical documentation

Nice-to-have

• Experience working as a lead within a larger team of environment artists
• Strong painting skills for providing artistic feedback
• Deep knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 technologies such as Nanite and Lumen

Tags

Benefits

• Competitive industry standard salary
• Hybrid working mode, with options for regular office attendance or remote work
• Referral program
• Flexible working hours
• 25 days of vacation, plus company wide annual leave in January, short term sick leave, additional remote days and additional days for significant life events
• A month of 4 hour workdays for employees returning from maternity leave
• Ongoing education and training, including conferences, classes, workshops and courses
• Work with top talents, senior professionals and teams from the field
• Premium private medical insurance
• Team building events
• Fitness support allowances
• Coffee, fruits and snacks in the office
• Merch and gifts