Art Director

First Fun; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

First Fun in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a hands-on Art Director to define the visual direction for our mobile titles. You will own the art strategy, author the Art Bible, and lead the team to craft a distinct IP aligned with Western mobile market preferences.

You will champion an AI-forward production workflow, collaborate with cross-functional leads, and ensure assets meet Unity engine constraints while maintaining stylistic cohesion.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of art experience in mobile gaming.
• Proven track record leading art teams as Art Director or similar.
• Portfolio demonstrating mastery of color, composition, and IP development.
• Experience defining original art direction and launching new IP.
• Ability to integrate AI-assisted workflows while preserving style.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the end-to-end visual identity and art direction for new mobile titles from scratch.
• Author and maintain Art Bibles and style guides with clear benchmarks for assets.
• Lead AI-forward pipelines and ensure cohesion across production assets.
• Oversee internal artists and external studios to match quality and constraints.
• Collaborate with Engineers and Designers to balance gameplay readability and performance.

Skills

Art Direction Leadership

IP Development

Unity Engine

AI Tool Orchestration

Mobile Game Art

US/Western Market Understanding

Portfolio Excellence

Tools

Unity Engine

AI-assisted workflows

3D Asset Production

Job description

As our Art Director, you will be the creative visual anchor and the architect of our art team. We are looking for a hands-on visionary who deeply understands the mobile game market—player aesthetics, visual hooks, and US market trends.

In this role, you will take full ownership of defining a game's visual direction, authoring the foundational Art Bible, and building a distinct, memorable IP. You will not just manage; you will actively lead the art strategy, integrate AI-native production workflows to accelerate iteration, and partner closely with cross-functional leads in our fast-paced studio.

Note: As our team thrives on close-knit collaboration, this role is on-site at our Santa Clara, CA office.

Key Responsibilities

Visual Direction & 0-to-1 IP Building

• Define and own the end-to-end visual identity and art direction for new mobile titles from scratch.
• Author and maintain comprehensive Art Bibles and style guides—establishing clear benchmarks for character proportions, movement, color palettes, world-building, UI/UX feel, animation style and visual hierarchy.
• Leverage deep insights into western mobile market preferences (stylized art directions) to craft visually distinct IP and market-leading visual hooks.

AI-Native Pipeline & Workflow Architecture

• Drive an AI-forward art department, integrating generative and assistive AI tools into daily workflows (from rapid concepting, mood boards, 3D generation and texturing to pre-visualization).
• Build and refine proprietary AI-assisted pipelines that multiply team output while maintaining strict stylistic cohesion and artistic integrity.
• Translate high-level creative concepts into production-ready, modular asset guidelines (poly-counts, texture budgets, material conventions) optimized for mobile engines (Unity).
• Establish rigorous quality control standards and review processes (Self-check, Delivery, and In-Engine validation) to eliminate style drift and rework.
• Oversee internal artists and external vendor/outsourcing pipelines, ensuring remote partners flawlessly match our quality bar and technical constraints.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work in a flat, tightly-knit team environment with Engineers and Designers to ensure art serves gameplay mechanics, readability, and performance.
• Partner with marketing leads to ensure in-game aesthetics align seamlessly with high-converting User Acquisition (UA) creatives and promotional assets.

Requirements

• 8+ years of art experience in the mobile gaming industry, with a track record of leading teams as an Art Director, Lead Concept Artist, or Principal Artist.
• Proven experience defining an original art direction, building a new IP from concept to launch, or leading art direction on a recognized, major game IP.
• Deep understanding of the US/Western mobile gaming landscape and proven ability to craft stylized art that resonates with audiences.
• World-class portfolio demonstrating strong mastery of color theory, composition, character/environment design, and the ability to author actionable Art Bibles.
• Deep understanding of orchestrating different AI tools for different purposes including image generation, 3d generation, animation, visual effects and shaders.
• Solid understanding of mobile engine constraints (Unity), performance budgets, and translating concept art into optimized 3D assets.
• On-site Requirement: Must be able to work 5 days a week on-site at our office in Santa Clara, CA.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working on strategy, RTS, 4X, MOBA or RPG mobile titles.
• Hands-on experience inside Unity, be able to provide both aesthetic and technical suggestions based on the conditions of art assets.
• Experience managing high-volume external art studios and establishing efficient feedback loops.