Hard Surface Art Lead

PLAY, GROW and WIN
To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator.

At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004.

Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.

At Virtuos, we are at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences daily. Join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.

Responsibilities
ABOUT THE POSITION
Lead And Manage Team

• Oversee the creation of 3D Art and manage the day-to-day production of team members.
• Prioritize, plan, and organize tasks for themselves and their team with the Producers.
• Understand the team and help with career path development, interviews, and performance reviews.
• Spread positive energy while having the courage to make tough decisions.

Estimation And Workload Evaluation

• Provide accurate time estimates and delivery expectations for each stage of the 3D art pipeline.
• Support AAD and Producers in communicating realistic timelines, expectations and delivery targets to clients based on Art Estimations.

Quality Assurance & Standards

• Define and evaluate the quality benchmark for high-end 3D game outsourcing projects in terms of art and technical aspects.
• Follow the project's artistic direction, ensuring a unified look and consistent quality.
• Conduct regular reviews of 3D assets submitted by the team to ensure they meet project quality standards and requirements.
• Ensure all deliverables meet the client's art and technical specifications.
• Document and track quality issues and communicate constructive feedback to artists clearly and effectively.
• Highlight risk areas and suggest mitigation strategies to AAD and Producers to prevent quality issues from impacting deliverables.

Mentoring & Training

• Provide mentoring, feedback, and training to team members to reach a higher art standard and achieve NextGen quality.

Problem Solving & Production Improvement

• Identify project risks and problems and suggest solutions.
• Take initiatives in solving problems.
• Help set up best practices and streamline production processes.

Art Pipeline And Process Development

• Provide up-to-date guidelines/checklists based on client art specifications and changes.
• Design and develop efficient, scalable workflows and pipelines tailored to the client's production needs and team's capabilities.
• Evaluate and recommend software, plugins, and tools that enhance productivity and quality.
• Work with technical artists or engineers to develop custom tools/scripts to automate repetitive tasks.
• Continuously evaluate and optimize the production process to reduce bottlenecks and increase team efficiency.

Reporting & Collaboration

• Report to the Hard Surface AAD.
• Partner with stakeholders and work with downstream teams.
• Share to Discipline Art teams with the latest next-gen quality orientation.

Qualifications
Working Experience

• More than 5 years of experience in the games industry, specifically as a 3D Artist (e.g., Environment Artist, 3D Hard Surface Artist) at a senior level.
• More than 1 year experience in an art leadership role, having shipped at least 1 AAA console title (mostly realistic games).
• Experience in shipping AAA titles.
• Experience with 3D art pipelines and an in-depth understanding of weapon creation workflows and pipelines.
• Thorough understanding of the game creation process, from concept to launch.

Technical Proficiency

• Deep understanding of next-gen games.
• Mastery in Blender and/or Maya and/or 3DsMax, expert knowledge in ZBrush, and experience with other major CG art software.
• Excellent use of Substance 3D Painter and excellent knowledge in material and texture creation, including proficiency in Substance Designer.
• Comprehensive understanding of the PBR pipeline.
• Comfortable working in industry standard game engines such as UE & Unity.
• Flexibility to quickly adapt to constant technical changes & knowledge updates.

Artistic Skills

• An outstanding portfolio demonstrating Hard Surface work and a good eye for detail.
• Strong sense of scene composition and visual storytelling, with a strong eye for lighting, color and detail.
• Passion for pushing the state of the art in asset fidelity and production techniques.

Leadership & Team

• Ability to orientate and transmit information to train artists.
• Strong spirit of sharing and eagerness to learn.
• Proactive and self-motivated, ability to work without direct supervision.
• Proven leadership, team, and people management skills.
• Open-mindedness and strong teamwork.

Communication

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Intermediate English level is also noted.

Others

• Bachelor Degree in Arts or related field is a plus.
• Having a strong passion for video games is preferred.