Outsource Supervisor - Unannounced | Irvine, CA

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Job Description:

Blizzard is looking for an Art Outsource Supervisor to help facilitate all aspects of external 2D art on a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. This individual’s talents and creativity will help contribute to and maintain the high-quality bar across all aspects of external art development. Working closely with the design team and internal artists, the Outsource Supervisor will contribute to the development of plans for current and future pipelines. You will also work closely with other outsource supervisors, artists, and producers on day-to-day tasks and new initiatives.  The ideal candidate should have excellent communication skills, exceptional drawing skills with a specialization in concept design, and a clear and demonstrated understanding of Blizzard’s art style. They should also be able to manage internal development requests, foresee future needs, and develop art asset pipelines to scale.  If you are excited about learning new pipelines and enjoy new challenges, we would love to talk with you.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities:

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Create and improve art outsource infrastructure and standard methodologies to achieve the Blizzard level of quality.

• Source vendors and build successful long-term relationships with them to ensure a sustainable production pipeline without sacrificing quality.

• Help tackle day-to-day concept requests as they arise.

• Partner with outsourcing art supervisors and the internal art team leads, using a variety of tools in creating and managing workflows and pipelines of all outsourced tasks.

• Oversee and maintain the highest quality standards for all outsourced work.

• Participate in strategy development and provide reliable solutions for all outsource-related tasks and assignments.

• Handle quotes, budgets, and a high volume of contracts, partnering with the legal and the finance departments.

• Work closely with production and art leadership in building long-term schedules and foreseeing issues before they arise to ensure successful development pipelines.

• Maintain high-quality vendor relations with all active vendors supporting development.

Minimum Requirement

Experience

• 3+ years of outsource management experience or equivalent in a game development environment.

• Self-motivated, collaborative, and analytical as it relates to pipelines and tackling unique daily tasks.

• Able to work quickly and comfortably within a production environment.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and able to work within a team with an eye to improve the player experience and game itself.

• Positive attitude and an ability to receive and provide clear feedback.

• Eager to tackle new challenges in a fast-paced development environment with ever-changing  daily tasks.

• Expert level knowledge of all the various tools used to craft assets for modern game engines.

Skills & Knowledge

• Ability to work creatively as part of a large or small group.

• Strong illustration and concepting skills.

• Self-starter and driver, excellent communicator, and an amazing team-player.

Extra Points

• Able to balance the parallel goals of game development and artistry in one’s work.

• Excellent organizational skills.

• Shows true excitement about how to use outsourcing to build efficient production pipelines that are continuously improved upon over time.

• Strong foundational skills in traditional art including but not limited to traditional or digital painting and illustration.

• Understanding of the visual style of Blizzard games and has a passion to push it to the next level.

Required Application Materials

• Resume.

• Online portfolio demonstrating relevant assets created by you, clearly showing game examples of your work.

• Online portfolio of professional 2D work (personal work is also a plus).

• Must be willing to take an art test if requested to do so.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment.  We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics. 

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.