Lead Environment Artist - Unannounced Game

Project Background:
Jagex has begun exciting new projects that leverage our legendary RuneScape IP in creative ways. We are expanding a project team with expertise in the latest technologies, focused around Unreal Engine 5, to create a highly-skilled, player-focused development group that you could join. A core team based in Cambridge, augmented by members distributed globally, form a friendly, talented bunch keen to invite new members.
Apply your passion for creating unforgettable online games and drive technology development to help us fulfil our vision for a deep, community-driven, connected, multi-platform Open World Survival Craft experience, set in the RuneScape universe.
Job Purpose:
We have an exciting opportunity for a Lead Environment Artist to join a growing team on a brand-new project!  
Working with Art Directors and Principals, you will be responsible for setting and maintaining a cohesive visual style within your specialism. You will visually own building rich, immersive worlds while holding the art vision for the area. Together with design you will deliver the best environmental player interaction and experience.  
As a lead, you will coordinate and collaborate with your team and hold their work to a common standard of quality. It is expected you split time effectively between leadership and task contribution. You will liaise with production and external development to ensure your area of ownership has a solid and timely work stream including hiring/ growth. You are responsible for creating a healthy environment to unleash potential in others and facilitates career progression within their area of ownership. You will be expected to set mechanisms to review, critique and guide quality ensuring alignment to the art direction in your given area of ownership.  
A Lead is a skilled contributor with the ability and ability to provide strong craft leadership within their discipline and effectively time manage themselves and others in their sub team to deliver the results expected by the games directors.  
Leads work closely with the directors to establish the art direction, documenting any guides, creative briefs, or pipelines in support of that goal. They will be expected to be hands-on and perform the duties of their specialty when needed while also taking on the lead-specific duties as outlined below. 
This role gives a rare opportunity for a lead to make a significant impact on a game from conception to completion.
Key Duties Include:

• Collaborate closely with the Art Director to develop the products environment art style.
• Build, lead, mentor, and manage environment artists ensuring their continual levelling up.
• Balance team management with the delivery of artwork at the expected studio quality.
• Accountable for environment art quality.
• Plan, schedule, and structure tasks that feed into scheduling and planning.
• Contribute towards the art team hiring plan.
• Build a healthy environment to unleash the potential in others.
• Inspire and mentor the environment artists, sharing your craft expertise and best practices.
• Document and communicate technical specifications and visual guides to support the art direction to both internal and external artists. 
• Run individual, group reviews and feedback sessions to set and maintain quality consistency.
• Work with design to construct effective, fun level layouts and designs.
• Collaborate with tech art and programming to ensure pipelines and tools are effective optimal and capable of delivery.
• Keep all updated with state-of-the-art craft software, pipelines, and processes knowledge.
• Hands on teaching expertise and specialist knowledge in products selected game engine.
• Supervise level optimisations, bug distribution, and verify bug fixes.
• Comfortable dealing with outsource vendors if required.

Essential Skills:

• Previous experience leading, mentoring, or coaching others to success within craft.
• Portfolio showcasing outstanding ‘hands on’ high end environment art (not props).
• Exceptional knowledge of the art fundamentals and their digital application.
• Understanding of both realistic and stylized visual elements.
• Full end to end industry experience of a modern environment art production pipeline.
• Understanding of technical game constraints and how to resolve them within related craft.
• Comfortable with running individual, group review and critique sessions.
• Able to time manage, prioritise, and track both themselves and direct reports.  
• Ability to communicate clearly, and concisely to team, peers, and management.  
• Willingness to transition between asset production and line management.
• Able to level up junior to senior artists through teaching and mentoring.  
• Professional attitude and work ethic.
• Excellent soft skills and teamwork.

Company Overview:
A leader in creating deep and engaging experiences on PC and mobile, Jagex was founded in 2001 and is today one of the UK’s biggest and most respected video game developers and publishers.
Famed for its flagship MMOs RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, Jagex has welcomed more than 260million player accounts to its world and created a $1bn lifetime franchise revenue. Today the RuneScape franchise exists beyond running games in live operations; our titles are living games that connect and inspire millions of players, with content and experiences both inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds.
Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, on PC and mobile, offer ever-evolving, highly-active worlds and our community-focussed development ethos empowers players to have a real say in how each game is shaped.
Jagex is expanding and extending its portfolio with fresh franchise titles, new IP and, in 2018 launched Jagex Partners, delivering third-party publishing and operational services exclusively for the living games of the future.
Jagex employs more than 400 people at its Cambridge headquarters and is on the hunt for talented people to work across the business to help the company to achieve yet another year of record growth and player satisfaction.

Company Benefits:
- Flexible Working- Bonus Scheme- Private Health Care - Gym Membership- Monthly Energy Allowance- Generous Pension Contributions- Life Insurance- Free Cycle Repair- Income Protection- Dental Plan- Free Fruit and Drinks- Subsidised Canteen
Feel like you fit this role, but don’t meet all the requirements? We strive for fresh perspectives, so as long as you can demonstrate how your attitude and other abilities might make up for any gaps we would welcome your application! Jagex are an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.