Art Director

Side; Portugal; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Dynamic multinational environment

Global game services leader

Regular progression opportunities

Job summary

Side is seeking a visionary Art Director to lead and elevate 2D/3D art production for game development projects in Portugal. You will drive artistic excellence, oversee production pipelines, and lead talented teams, delivering high-quality visuals that align with client expectations and project goals.

You will mentor artists, shape pipelines, and collaborate with clients to ensure quality, efficiency, and profitability across multiple projects. English communication and leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in 3D art production for games, with at least 2 years in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Mastery of common industry software such as 3D Studio Max or Maya, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, ZBrush, Adobe 3D Substance Painter.
• Expert with game engines (Unreal and Unity).
• Strong artistic aptitude, and ability to relay feedback visually through paint-overs.
• Experience creating and optimizing art pipelines.
• Exceptional communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills, with a track record of successfully leading creative teams.
• Great level of English communication is a must.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for key clients, providing strategic art direction, technical guidance, and timely feedback throughout the production cycle.
• Oversee the full 3D Art pipeline, ensuring projects meet established goals for quality, efficiency, and profitability.
• Oversee and manage a team of 3D/2D artists engaged in games asset production projects.
• Lead the artistic direction and ensure alignment with the overall visual style of the project.
• Lead the communication with clients about artistic and technical matters.
• Establish Art production pipeline in coordination with clients.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and feedback to foster artistic growth and ensure high-quality 3D art delivery.
• Play a key role in recruiting and building a strong Art team.
• Contribute to project scoping and support client acquisition efforts.

Skills

Leadership & mentorship

3D art production

English communication

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

3D Studio Max

Maya

Blender

Adobe Photoshop

ZBrush

Substance Painter

Job description

At Side, we partner with some of the world's leading developers and publishers to solve complex production challenges and help bring exceptional games to life. From concept through live operations, our co-development teams work as trusted extensions of our clients' studios, contributing expertise across design, engineering, art, audio, QA, and production.

We are looking for a visionary Art Director to lead and elevate 2D/3D art production for game development projects. You will drive artistic excellence, oversee production pipelines, and lead talented teams in delivering high-quality visuals that align with client expectations and project goals. This role combines creative leadership, technical expertise, and strategic client collaboration, with a strong focus on team development, production efficiency, and business growth.

Requirements

What will you do:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for key clients, providing strategic art direction, technical guidance, and timely feedback throughout the production cycle.
• Oversee the full 3D Art pipeline, ensuring projects meet established goals for quality, efficiency, and profitability
• Oversee and manage a team of 3D / 2D artists engaged in games asset production projects.
• Lead the artistic direction and ensure alignment with the overall visual style of the project.
• Lead the communication with clients about artistic and technical matters.
• Technical expertise to decide which technologies to pursue and which to avoid
• Establish Art production pipeline in coordination with clients.
• Ensure artistic quality of deliverables.
• Proven ability to articulate a game project's art goals and lead the team to meet objectives to fulfill those goals.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and feedback to foster their artistic growth and ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality 3D art.
• Play a key role in recruiting and building a strong Art team.
• Contribute to project scoping and support client acquisition efforts.

What are we looking for:

• 5+ years of experience in 3D art production for games, with at least 2 years in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Mastery of common industry software such as 3D Studio Max or Maya, Blender, Adobe Photoshop, Maxon Zbrush, Adobe 3D Substance Painter.
• Expert with game engines (Unreal and Unity).
• Strong artistic aptitude, and ability to relay feedback visually through paint-overs.
• Experience creating and optimizing art pipelines.
• Exceptional communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills, with a track record of successfully leading creative teams.
• Great level of English communication is a must.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary.
• Dynamic, multicultural and fun environment.
• You will be working for the world's leading provider of game services.
• We empower our people and offer regular progression opportunities to ensure our employees flourish.

About Side

Side (formerly PTW) 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 20 studios in 14 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.

Experience our side of life. For more information, visit www.side.inc