Senior Art Director - New Game Concepts

About the role

We’re seeking a visionary Senior Art Director to lead the artistic vision and creative strategy for our New Game Concepts department. This team is responsible for incubating original IPs and shaping new game experiences from the ground up, with two projects currently in concept phase and more anticipated in the future.

The ideal candidate has deep experience in early-stage game development, concept exploration, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. You understand the nuances of player psychology, worldbuilding, theme resonance, and the business realities of launching new IPs. You’re hands-on when necessary and know how to scale teams and pipelines to match evolving needs from napkin sketch to prototype to vertical slice.

Importantly, you’re excited about the evolving role of AI in the creative pipeline—using it to accelerate worldbuilding, amplify exploration, generate new possibilities, and enhance teams' overall creative abilities

What you’ll achieve

Creative Leadership

• Define and drive the visual identity of new IPs in collaboration with Game Directors and Narrative Leads.
  
  
• Guide theme exploration, style development, and worldbuilding aligned with gameplay goals and player profiles.
  
  
• Lead “visual-first” worldbuilding exercises and internal creative workshops that inspire new gameplay concepts.
  
  
• Explore emerging themes and build visual research packages around untapped cultural trends or social mechanics.
  
  
• Champion AI-assisted ideation tools for mood boards, exploration, and concept iteration.

Prototyping & Concept Development

• Partner with design and engineering leads to ensure art direction supports gameplay experimentation.
  
  
• Define what’s “enough” for early prototyping and manage fidelity expectations.
  
  
• Build and lead prototype-focused art teams, scaling pragmatically with project needs.
  
  
• Maintain and refine the shared prototype art library, including modular environments and genre-flexible kits.
  
  
• Establish templates, toolkits, and visual alignment baselines for rapid exploration.

Strategic IP Development

• Contribute to IP development materials for internal pitch and greenlight processes.
  
  
• Help shape long-term IP roadmaps and visual languages for properties with multi-game or cross-media potential.
  
  
• Use AI worldbuilding tools to enrich lore, environments, and player fantasies at scale.
  
  

Production Oversight

• Make informed trade-offs between 2D vs. 3D, stylized vs. realistic, and fidelity levels, balancing design and business needs.
  
  
• Collaborate with technical artists and engineers to ensure implementation-ready, scalable content.
  
  
• Develop pipelines and team structures to transition prototypes into pre-production.
  
  
• Evaluate AI-powered production tools for asset creation, animation, and efficiency while ensuring quality control.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner across Art, Design, Narrative, UX, and Marketing to align visual direction with product vision and player engagement.
  
  
• Mentor and guide artists and junior art leads to grow their skills and careers.
  
  
• Present visual market insights, trend analyses, and early concept tests to inform strategy.

What you’ll need to be successful

• Proven success leading early-stage concept teams and launching new IPs or innovative game concepts.
  
  
• Strong understanding of player-centered design and how art style impacts emotional resonance.
  
  
• Expertise in worldbuilding, narrative integration, and theme exploration.
  
  
• Hands-on familiarity with game engines (Unity, Unreal, etc.) and content pipelines.
  
  
• Curiosity and practical experience in integrating AI tools into creative workflows.
  
  
• Mastery in at least one core art discipline (e.g., concept art, 3D modeling, VFX, animation, technical art).
  
  
• Ability to balance artistic integrity with performance, budget, and platform requirements.
  
  
• Excellent communication, presentation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
  
  
• Experience in both start-up/small team and large studio environments.
  
  
• Knowledge of market trends in indie and experimental games.
  
  
• Experience working across mobile and PC platforms.
  
  
• Background in visual storytelling or narrative design. (nice to have)