As an Art Lead at Riot, you will bring worlds to life through your vision, craft, & leadership. Youll help define the next generation of VFX art at Riot, build & guide a team of talented artists, & your craft execution will stand as an example to the team. With your experience youll create aesthetically astounding visuals that communicate essential gameplay information. Beyond art, you will be accountable for your teams artistic quality, performance, & growth.

As a Lead VFX Artist on an Unpublished R&D Project you will be responsible for building & managing the VFX team to meet & support the game-wide art direction. Youll work closely with other art & design leaders on the team to build towards a unified vision while owning & informing the VFX space, & make calls on how it contributes towards that vision. As this is a pre-production role, you will also focus on developing a new art style & pipeline that will serve as the foundation for the projects long-term artistic vision. You will report into the Art Director.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with the Art Director to define style benchmarks that will meet the needs of the product & players
• Develop the VFX art style & aesthetic through in-game work, style guides, best practices & communication with the team. Lead & leverage the VFX team to high quality execution on the art style
• Contribute to key pre-production tasks, such as defining artistic benchmarks, testing technical solutions, establishing performance benchmarks, & establishing the foundational vision for VFX art
• A strong understanding of the VFX workflow to support efforts for improvements & surface pain points
• Provide craft mentorship & guidance to level up VFX artists on the team to work towards artistic & career goals
• Work with Design, Engineering, & Product Owners to understand their goals & how VFX can support them. Lead the collaborative process with Design & any other groups that require it
• Own hiring manager responsibilities & create succession plans including onboarding accountability for new additions to future proof teams VFX needs
• Work with OS supervisors to maintain successful craft discipline integration of outsource vendors.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience as a VFX Artist or Lead VFX Artist in the gaming industry
• 1+ years of professional experience in a management role for senior developers
• Professional expertise in handpainted stylized VFX
• High proficiency in VFX development, including fundamentals like timing, shape language, color theory & mesh engineering
• Experience working cross discipline to create production ready pipelines & standards
• Experience working with modern game engines such as Unity, Unreal, or proprietary technologies

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working on a highly recognizable stylized game
• Experience working in pre-production for at least one game title
• Experience giving direction & delivering clear, constructive feedback to vendors

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise & a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies & experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy & care about players' experiences, this is the role for you!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy & other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, & life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, & children, & a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games & experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether youre working directly on a new player-facing experience or youre supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, were better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, were looking forward to your application.

Its our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants & members of Riot Games Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped & disabled Rioters & does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal & state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state & local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, & the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential & sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters & third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, & networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players & other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, & compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs & additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency & security.