Senior Environment Artist

Keyword Studios; British Columbia; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Opportunity to work on different projects

3 weeks of paid leave

Comprehensive benefits package

Performance bonus

401(k) retirement plan with company matching

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

A leading game development studio seeks an experienced Senior Environment Artist to join their team in British Columbia. In this role, you will create high-quality environment art and lead a team, ensuring the art meets performance and quality standards. Strong experience in Unreal Engine, leadership skills, and a minimum of 8 years in the game industry are required. The position offers a flexible work environment, competitive salary, and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of professional game industry experience with at least one shipped title.
• Strong modeling and texturing skills, particularly in real-time environments.
• Proven experience delivering high-quality environment work in Unreal Engine.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality environment assets and scenes optimized for real-time performance.
• Lead execution for a small pod or strike team, breaking down tasks and prioritizing.
• Collaborate cross-discipline to ensure environments support gameplay.

Skills

Game environment art skills

Leadership and mentorship

Communication skills

Texturing and material definition skills

Real-time performance optimization

Tools

Unreal Engine 4 or 5

Maya

Blender

Substance Painter

ZBrush

Job description

GameSim is a game development studio that partners with clients to build games across PC/console and a range of art styles. We care about craftsmanship, collaboration, and shipping work we’re proud to put our names on. If you love building environments and believable spaces we’d like to meet you. Our headquarters is based in Orlando, FL!

Talent Pipeline Posting Notice
Please note that this posting is not tied to an immediate vacancy. We are proactively building a pipeline of qualified candidates in anticipation of potential hiring needs over the coming months. Applications will be reviewed and retained for future consideration as opportunities arise.

We are seeking a Senior Environment Artist (with leadership responsibilities) to join our team! You’ll create game-ready environment art end-to-end: planning and kit strategy → modeling → materials/textures → set dressing → implementation in a proprietary or commercial engine. This is a senior, production-focused role with leadership responsibility: you’ll set a quality bar, establish standards, run reviews, direct workflows, help align environment art across teams and client expectations, mentor other artists, and proactively unblock production. We’re looking for positive, inclusive communicators who can bring clear, proactive communication and a solutions-focused attitude.

90-day success looks like

Within your first 90 days, you:

• Work effectively and efficiently in UE5, or quickly ramp up in a proprietary engine and deliver high quality work within its constraints.
• Deliver a set of polished, shippable environment content (a modular kit, hero set, or key scene slice) that matches the project’s art direction and performance targets.
• Establish trust as a senior: provide clear feedback, create reusable examples/templates, and improve team consistency and throughput.
• Identify environment risks early (scope, workflow gaps, perf constraints) and propose practical solutions with Art Direction, Tech Art, and Production.

Day-to-day responsibilities

• Create high-quality environment assets and scenes (architecture, organic environment, kits, hero props, set dressing) built for real-time performance.
• Drive material quality: trim sheets, tileables, layered materials, vertex blends, and reusable material functions as appropriate.
• Own scene/asset optimization: LOD strategy, streaming considerations, draw calls, memory, lightmap constraints, and platform targets.
• Lead execution for a small pod or strike team: break down tasks, set short-term priorities, and keep deliverables moving.
• Provide reviews and mentorship: actionable notes, paintovers/blockouts as needed, and consistent standards for “definition of done.”
• Collaborate cross-discipline (Design, Lighting, Tech Art, Engineering) to ensure environments support gameplay readability and performance.
• Support client-facing communication when needed: clarify requirements, share WIP, align on standards, and reduce rework through early alignment.
• Contribute to pipeline/process improvements: naming conventions, template scenes, kit documentation, and onboarding guides.

Requirements

• Minimum 8-years of professional game industry experience with at least one shipped title.
• Experience working with industry standard tools such as Maya, 3DS Max, Blender, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, ZBrush, etc
• Proven experience shipping or delivering real-time environment work in Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
• Strong environment art fundamentals: composition, mood, scale, material definition, and cohesion.
• Strong modeling skills (architectural/modular, hard-surface, and organic); solid UV and baking fundamentals.
• Strong texturing/material skills (Photoshop + Substance Painter; Designer/trim workflows strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated optimization knowledge (LODs, texel density, streaming, draw calls, memory budgets).
• Leadership-level communication: clear written and verbal updates, actionable feedback, strong collaboration habits.
• Experience mentoring or guiding other artists (formal lead title not required, but leadership behaviors are).
• Can work Central (CT) core hours with possible overlap hours with Pacific (PT) or Eastern (ET).
• Work options are flexible: remote / hybrid / onsite.

Nice-to-have

• Houdini experience (procedural kits, scattering, tools).
• Foliage/organic workflows (SpeedTree, ZBrush, photogrammetry).
• Lighting/post-process experience (can support look targets and debug scene issues).
• Experience owning a small slice of a level/biome from planning to delivery.
• Comfort working across stylized and realistic pipelines; strong reference analysis skills.
• Scripting/tooling familiarity (Python, editor scripting, or simple pipeline automation).

Portfolio requirements

Your portfolio must include:

• Real-time environments showing strong composition, material definition, and scene cohesion.
• Evidence of production thinking: modularity, reuse, consistency, and optimization awareness.
• At least one in-engine example (video walkthrough or gameplay capture preferred).
• Bonus (strongly preferred): evidence of leadership impact—mentorship examples, consistent kits built across multiple assets, documentation/templates, or before/after improvements.

How to apply

• Resume + portfolio link required.
• An art test may be required as part of the process.

This position is currently open to candidates residing in the following Canada Provinces: Ontario or British Columbia.

Salary Range: $85,000 USD to $90,000 CAD

Benefits

What's in it for you?

• Opportunity to work on different projects
• 3 weeks of paid leave
• Benefits package including medical, dental and vision
• Sick Leave
• Disability Coverage
• Performance bonus
• Corporate holidays
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with company matching
• Professional Development

GameSim is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities and evaluate candidates based on skills, experience, and alignment with the role.

Keywords Studios is dedicated to following a well-established Equal Opportunities Policy. We endeavor to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY

By providing your information in this application, you understand that we will collect and process your information in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. For more information, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice at https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/applicant-privacy-notice .