The Lead Environment Artist at Arctic 7 is responsible for leading the Environment Art Team in the development of AAA environments in accordance with the overall vision of the game. The Lead Environment Artist must have a great artistic vision, good technical knowledge of the subject and be creative in order to be involved in all processes related to the creation and quality of the environment assets at all stages of production. 

Having this role, you will:  

• Provide strong leadership and thoughtful direction for the Environment Art Team.  
• Review assets to make certain that they satisfy their intended design and are ready for rigging and animation.  
• Mentor Environment Artists by providing creative and technical training, guidance, and feedback.  
• Manage the task backlogs, bugs, and risks in an effective manner to ensure the smooth running of the department throughout the project. 
• Collaborate with other disciplines (Level Art, Technical Art, VFX, Lighting, Animators, Level Designers, etc.) to deliver quality assets.  
• Communicate with the Technical Artist on the implementation of the pipeline for the creation of assets (tools, generators, world, materials, texturing, auto-checks, etc.).  
• Oversee the creation and maintenance of all relevant documentation for the project, including naming, folder structures & terminology for all environment production.  
• Create prototypes.  
• Create/edit content to provide reference quality examples (assets, modules, materials, textures, etc.).  
• Participate in reviewing and interviewing potential candidates.  
• Follow the project guidelines and respect the artistic, technical and gameplay constraints. 
• Work with the Outsource Producer to organize and estimate tasks for Outsourcers Environment Artists:  
• Assemble benchmark internal asset packs and documentation.   
• Control quality and provide clear and regular feedback.  

We expect:  

• Experience in Environment Art production within a Leadership position.  
• Strong Portfolio with examples of:   
• First option: Creatively compelling scenes, levels and environments created in Unreal Engine 4/5 or equivalent.  
• Second option: Great quality assets that show technical proficiency as well as attention to detail and storytelling.  
• Being a positive, active, and contributing team member.  
• Being proactive and helpful with ad-hoc problem-solving.  
• Being detail oriented with an extremely high bar for the quality of delivery.  
• Ability to work independently, prioritize and deliver to production schedules.  
• Excellent knowledge of modern and classic techniques for Environment content creation (modules, tiles, trims, decals, multiple UV technics, planning, optimization, bugs fixing and etc.).  
• Excellent High and Low poly modeling skills, as well as demonstrable skill with texture and material creation within a PBR pipeline. 
• Knowledge of the production of vegetation assets.  
• Knowledge of fabric geometry production (Marvelous Designer experience or equal).  
• Good English skills, both writing and speaking.  

Nice to have, but not required: 

• Experience on at least one Console or PC AAA title.  
• A passion for playing and developing exceptional games.  
• Traditional 2D skills for concept art and paint overs.  
• Experience with a full project cycle, working within technical budgets and experience of optimization and bug fixing.  
• Experience in using mainstream engines (Unity, Unreal Engine 4/5).  
• Experience in UE blueprints and UE material editor. 
• Proposing technical and artistic solutions to other trades related to the project. 

Working mode (optional):

• Remote: working from home, from any Europe location that is within 3 hours of the UTC +1 time zone.
• Office: working primarily from Podgorica, Montenegro [company provides relocation support].