Lead Artist Generalist - (Contract) Malaysia

Side; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Side is seeking a Lead Artist (Generalist) in Kuala Lumpur to define visual direction from stylized 2D to AAA-quality 3D games. You will lead a multidisciplinary art team ensuring high creative and technical standards while managing project visual goals.

The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of game art experience, proficiency in Unity and Unreal Engine, and experience mentoring teams. The role offers contract-to-full-time potential with comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional game art experience, including lead or senior roles.
• Expert knowledge of composition, color, lighting, and visual storytelling.
• Understanding of performance optimization and PBR workflows.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the overall visual direction for 2D and 3D projects.
• Lead and mentor a cross-disciplinary art team.
• Create high-quality benchmark assets for projects.
• Collaborate with design, engineering, and production teams.
• Review work and provide clear feedback to maintain quality.

Skills

AAA game art experience

Proficiency in Unity

Proficiency in Unreal Engine

Hands-on with Maya

Hands-on with Blender

Knowledge of Substance Painter

Strong communication skills

Tools

Maya

Blender

Photoshop

Substance Painter/Designer

Spine 2D

Job description

About Side

Side is a global video game development and services provider, offering technical and creative solutions to many of the largest developers and studios around the world. Founded in 2009 and drawing on 30+ years' experience from our parent company in Japan, Side has since grown to become a global force with 15+ studios in over a dozen countries across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Our industry-leading services include game development, art production, audio production, quality assurance, localization, localization QA, player support, community management, and datasets.

About the Role

As Lead Artist (Generalist), you’ll define and uphold the visual direction for a wide range of projects from stylized 2D to AAA-quality 3D games. You’ll lead a multidisciplinary art team, establish best practices, and ensure every asset meets a high creative and technical standard across Unity, Unreal, and potentially proprietary engine pipelines. You’ll start by leading an internal 2d project in Unity, and help build scalable art workflows, visual standards, and production art that will power future art outsourcing and co-development (codev) partnerships with global clients.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the overall visual direction, style, and quality across 2D and 3D projects.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a cross-disciplinary art team (concept, character, environment, props, lighting, FX, and UI).
• Create high-quality benchmark assets that demonstrate both artistic and technical excellence.
• Oversee asset production from concept to in-engine implementation in both Unity and Unreal Engine.
• Collaborate closely with design, engineering, and production to ensure visual targets align with gameplay, performance, and delivery schedules.
• Review internal and outsourced work, providing clear, actionable feedback to maintain consistency and quality.
• Support project planning by accurately scoping art deliverables, identifying risks, and advising on staffing and pipeline needs.
• Help establish scalable art standards and documentation to support future art and codev projects and partner integrations.
• Attend internal and external meetings, sometimes outside of normal business hours, as necessary to support business goals.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional game art experience (2D and 3D), with at least 2 years in a lead or senior role.
• Proven ability to deliver AAA or high-quality stylized content across multiple genres and platforms.
• Hands‑on proficiency with Unity and Unreal Engine pipelines.
• Expert knowledge of tools such as Maya, Blender, Substance Painter/Designer, Photoshop, Spine 2d and related software.
• Strong understanding of composition, color, lighting, materials, and visual storytelling.
• Solid grasp of performance optimization, PBR workflows, and real‑time rendering.
• Experience managing, mentoring, and reviewing both internal and outsourced teams.
• Excellent communication skills, especially in English, and comfort working in a globally distributed environment.
• Note: Specific requirements may vary depending on project needs.

Benefits

This role is contract to start with potential to convert to full time with comprehensive benefits.