Art Director

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

Job summary

First Fun is seeking an Art Director to lead the visual direction of our mobile titles from concept to launch. You will author the Art Bible, define style systems, and forge a distinctive IP that resonates with US players.

This role demands hands-on leadership, an eye for cinematic visuals, and the ability to implement AI-native production workflows. You will oversee a team of artists and coordinate with engineers, designers, and marketing to ensure assets are performant and market-ready for

Qualifications

• 8+ years of art leadership in mobile gaming.
• Proven track record defining original art directions and launching IPs.
• Deep understanding of US/Western mobile gaming market and stylized art.
• World-class portfolio in color theory, composition, and character/environment design.
• Experience orchestrating AI tools for image generation, 3D, animation, and shaders.
• Knowledge of mobile engine constraints (Unity) and asset optimization.
• On-site work experience and ability to lead with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Define 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.
• Leverage US market insights to craft distinctive IP and visual hooks.
• Drive AI-forward art pipelines and integrate them into daily workflows.
• Translate concepts into production-ready, modular asset guidelines for mobile engines.
• Oversee internal artists and external vendors to maintain quality and cohesion.
• Collaborate with Engineers, Designers, and Marketing to align aesthetics with gameplay and UA assets.

Skills

Art Direction

Team Leadership

Mobile Games

Unity

AI-driven pipelines

IP building

Tools

Photoshop

Blender

Maya

3D Asset Creation

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 ResponsibilitiesVisual 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.