Lead Level Artist at 2K in Novato, CA

As a Lead Level Artist at Cloud Chamber you will join our talented group of developers and lead a team of artists responsible for creating compelling, stylized, high-quality level art and immersive world-building under the guidance of the Art Director and Associate Art Director.

As a leader, your role is to build and foster a collaborative process, and share your vast knowledge of tools and best practices with your team. As an artist, your years of experience in the games industry have given you a solid understanding of form and composition as well as the ability to skillfully work within constraints and harmoniously collaborate with other departments. You will be asked to use all the tools and experience at your disposal to bring our richly imagined world to life.

What You’ll Do:

• Partner with other Art Leads to manage, mentor, and inspire a team of World Builders and Level Artists.
• Work closely with the Art Director, Associate Art Director, and other Leads to ensure artistic consistency and unity across the project.
• Collaborate with Design and Narrative Leads to create immersive and believable environments.
• Design and improve upon the modular systems of architecture for our levels.
• Provide objective, empathetic feedback and establish realistic development schedules.
• Manage the day-to-day activities of the World Art Team.
• Mentor and manage the career growth and development of the artists on your team.
• Create and manage asset lists in collaboration with internal and external partner teams.
• Coordinate workflow, support interdisciplinary communication, and facilitate efficient and effective building of the game world.

**What We’ll Do Together:**At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience.

Skills & Experiences:

• 7 or more years of experience in internal game development with an emphasis on environmental art or level architecture.
• At least 2 shipped titles (UE5/UE4 preferred), one shipped title in a leadership capacity, AAA titles preferred.
• Prior experience leading other artists and managing their career growth, goal-setting, and overall job performance.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate across multiple disciplines and locations clearly and effectively.
• Knowledge of current industry standard tools: 3D Studio Max / Maya, ZBrush, Substance, Photoshop, etc.
• Recent use of industry standard game editors (UE5 preferred).
• Experience with industry-standard asset management tools.
• Ability to support, inspire, and elevate team capabilities.
• Knowledge of classic drawing and/or painting techniques with the ability to sketch out ideas on paper.
• Solid awareness and sense of spatial composition and proportions.
• Understanding of basic architecture.
• Comfortable working in an iterative design environment.

Who You Are:

• A strong and empathetic leader with proven mentoring skills and a track record of supporting high functioning teams.
• A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
• A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
• Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills.
• Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset.
• Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
• An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
• A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.
• Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber's core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

Who We Are:

At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform their essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees, we only use 2K.com accounts.

#LI- Remote

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $125,400 and $185,580 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for employees in regular roles may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, provided that temporary or intern roles will not be eligible for many of these payments or benefits. Details of participation in compensation and benefit plans (if applicable) will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an at-will position and the company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.