Principal Game Artist

Resume Skip; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Zynga is seeking a Lead/Principal Artist to shape the visual identity of casual mobile games. You will drive art direction, create high-quality concepts and assets in 2D/3D, and explore AI-assisted workflows to accelerate production while ensuring visual consistency across titles.

You will mentor fellow artists, collaborate with designers and engineers, and elevate the player experience through cohesive art that supports gameplay and storytelling.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as Lead or Principal Artist in gaming with a strong portfolio.
• Hands-on with AI-assisted art workflows and emerging tech.
• Excellence in 2D and 3D art production and art direction.
• Ability to mentor artists and influence creative direction.

Responsibilities

• Define and elevate the artistic vision across casual mobile games.
• Lead hands-on creation of concepts, mock-ups and assets in 2D/3D and AI-assisted workflows.
• Integrate AI-assisted tools into art production for efficient pipelines.
• Prototype, iterate and test visual concepts using player feedback and data.
• Provide artistic leadership and mentorship without direct people management.
• Collaborate with designers, developers, producers and marketing to align art with gameplay objectives.
• Maintain high visual standards and consistency across assets and styles.

Skills

Lead Artist

Art Direction

AI-assisted art

2D/3D art

Mentorship

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Gameplay alignment

Tools

Unity

Job description

Level Up Your Career with Zynga!

At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times—connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition.

From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille™, Words With Friends™, Zynga Poker™, Game of Thrones Slots Casino™, Wizard of Oz Slots™, Hit it Rich! Slots™, Wonka Slots™, Top Eleven™, Toon Blast™, Empires & Puzzles™, Merge Dragons!™, CSR Racing™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, Match Factory™, and Color Block Jam™—plus many more!

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation—and where you can take your career to the next level.

Join us and be part of the play!

What you'll do

• Define and elevate the artistic vision. Drive the visual direction of new and existing casual mobile games, exploring distinctive and engaging art styles that support gameplay, strengthen the player experience and bring both new and established IP to life.
• Lead through hands-on creativity. Create high-quality concepts, mock-ups and game-ready assets across 2D, 3D and AI-assisted workflows. Set the benchmark for artistic excellence through your own work, from early exploration to final in-game implementation.
• Champion AI-driven creative workflows. Explore and integrate AI-assisted tools into the art production process, combining technical expertise with strong artistic judgment. Develop efficient, repeatable workflows that accelerate iteration while maintaining creative quality and visual consistency.
• Prototype, iterate and innovate. Rapidly develop and test visual concepts, using player insights, feedback and performance data to refine the artistic direction. Embrace experimentation and adapt quickly to identify the strongest creative opportunities.
• Provide artistic leadership and mentorship. Act as a creative reference for artists across game art, VFX, UI and animation. Share expertise, provide constructive feedback and help raise the overall quality of the team's work through collaboration and mentorship, without the need for direct people management.
• Collaborate across disciplines. Partner closely with game designers, developers, producers and marketing teams to ensure artistic decisions align with gameplay objectives, technical requirements and the overall player experience.
• Drive quality and consistency. Establish and maintain high visual standards throughout development, ensuring that art assets, styles and creative solutions deliver a cohesive, polished and engaging experience for players.

Skills to create thrills

• Extensive experience as a Lead or Principal Artist in the gaming industry, with a strong portfolio demonstrating artistic excellence and creative ownership.
• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted art creation and a passion for exploring emerging creative technologies, combining technical expertise with 2D and 3D mastery to deliver compelling visual styles.
• Exceptional artistic skills and hands-on expertise across both 2D and 3D art production.
• Strong art direction capabilities, with the ability to define, develop and execute compelling visual styles.
• Practical experience with AI-assisted art creation and a passion for exploring emerging creative technologies.
• An excellent understanding of casual mobile game aesthetics, visual trends and player expectations.
• Ability to rapidly prototype, iterate and adapt creative work in a fast-paced development environment.
• Strong understanding of game art pipelines, technical constraints and in-game asset implementation.
• A player-focused mindset, with the ability to connect artistic decisions to gameplay and engagement.
• Proven ability to influence creative direction, mentor fellow artists and elevate artistic quality without formal management responsibilities.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple disciplines.

Bonus points

• Experience working in small, agile teams, new game development or rapid prototyping environments.
• Hands-on experience implementing art assets directly in Unity.
• Experience in world building, animation, VFX or video production.
• Experience developing new IP or adapting established IP for new game experiences.
• Experience building or optimizing AI-assisted art production pipelines.
• Previous experience contributing to the visual direction of successful casual mobile games.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at ----- to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.

Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga’s in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, take2games.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).

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