Associate Art Director - Runescape: Dragonwilds

Jagex Limited; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A gaming company in Cambridge is seeking an Associate Art Director to lead art direction for the new game RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The role involves ensuring visual quality and consistency across art assets while mentoring the art team. Candidates should have extensive experience in game development and strong leadership skills. The position allows for remote work within the UK, with occasional on-site days.

Benefits

Private Healthcare

Minimum 6% Pension contributions

Flexible working hours

25 days annual leave

Qualifications

• A portfolio demonstrating Art Direction capability.
• Extensive end-to-end game development experience.
• Experience in managing multidisciplinary art and animation teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain a strong artistic vision.
• Own the visual quality bar for all assets.
• Mentor and guide lead artists on various disciplines.

Skills

Art Direction capability

Game development experience

Leadership skills

Mentoring capability

Knowledge of modern game development workflows

Job description

Location: Cambridge, UK – (Remote available within the UK with team onsite days in the Cambridge office approx. 4 times per year)

Are you an experienced, creative game art leader with a proven track record of setting art direction, leading teams to create beautiful art and upholding quality across multiple art disciplines?

As Associate Art Director on RuneScape: Dragonwilds, our new open world survival crafting game, currently in early access and being developed in UE5, you’ll play a key role in shaping the visual identity of our game, ensuring consistency, quality, and creativity across internal and external art assets.

You’ll work in close partnership with the Art Director, supporting the development of a cohesive vision while leading the art team with hands-on feedback, technical understanding, and inspirational direction.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence the future of RuneScape: Dragonwilds while building on your own leadership experience with a talented collaborative team.

What you’ll be doing:

• Work closely with the Art Director and Executive Producer to define and maintain a strong artistic vision that aligns with game design, product direction, and marketing strategy.
• Own the visual quality bar for all internal and external art assets, ensuring consistency and excellence across disciplines.
• Create and contribute to style guides and visual documentation to help communicate vision across the team.
• Run regular feedback sessions for both internal and external teams, delivering clear and actionable direction to elevate asset quality.
• Guide best practices in pipelines and workflows, championing efficient, scalable game art development processes.
• Collaborate with production to scope and schedule art deliverables across all asset types.
• Directly mentor and guide lead artists, helping to build capabilities across environment, character, concept, UI, VFX, and animation disciplines.
• Take an active role in recruitment, helping to shape a growing team through identifying and interviewing new talent.
• Engage in studio-wide initiatives, contributing to studio culture, cross-team collaboration, and company-wide creative evolution.

What we’re looking for:

• A portfolio demonstrating Art Direction capability (Style/ Production guides, paint-overs, etc.)
• Extensive end-to-end game development experience from concept, production through to live game on PC or Console to AAA standard.
• Proven experience communicating and propagating an artistic vision to teams, stakeholders and externally as required.
• Competent with strategies in growing, developing and managing multidisciplinary art and animation teams on a live game.
• Comfortable documenting and presenting current industry best practices to art and animation teams, critiquing problematic assets and workflows
• Practical hands-on mentoring capability in at least two of the following areas: environment art, character art, concept art, UI, VFX, lighting or animation.
• Working knowledge of modern game development workflows across all major artistic disciplines.
• Able to show a solid understanding of art fundamentals; anatomy, composition, lighting/ value, form/ function and perspective.
• Strong leadership skills with an inspirational lead by example approach that unleashes potential in others.
• Ability to bring a competitive edge to the studio through Art Direction.

What we offer:

When you join Jagex you can look forward to a generous Perks & Benefits package including:

• Private Healthcare, including Dental Plan.
• Minimum 6% Pension contributions.
• Employee Assistance Programme & onsite Counselling.
• Life Insurance.
• Discretionary annual performance bonus.
• Enhanced family leave policies from day 1.
• Flexible working hours.
• 25 days annual leave + Bank holidays & the option to buy/sell holidays + so much more!

About Jagex:

Jagex is a leader in developing and publishing deep, engaging online games that connect millions of players worldwide. Best known for the RuneScape franchise, which includes two of the world’s longest running and most successful MMORPGs, in Old School Runescape and Runescape, and the open-world survival crafting game, Runescape: Dragonwilds; we have proven success in delivering immersive Forever Games and fostering strong player communities.

We strive to foster an inclusive workplace built on trust, autonomy, and a shared passion for creating forever games.
Our values guide everything we do: We Embrace Fellowship by collaborating and sharing openly. We Hone our Craft by always learning and improving; we Honour our Vows by being honest and transparent; we are our Customers’ Heroes by striving to understand our team & player needs, and we Seize The Day by making the most of every opportunity.

With over two decades of experience, and over 400 people in our team, we continue to innovate in live game development, leveraging data-driven insights, and a commitment to player-first game design. We have a diverse and talented team where creativity, collaboration, and community-driven game development drives everything we do.

As part of Jagex, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a globally successful franchise, contribute to exciting new projects, and be part of a company that hugely values both our employees and our players.