Lead Environment Artist

Xsolla Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Xsolla is seeking a Lead Environmental Artist to craft high-quality, production-ready game environments that balance visual fidelity with real-time performance in major engines.

You will lead environment art pipelines, mentor artists, collaborate with engineers and designers, and optimize geometry, textures, lighting, and draw calls throughout production.

A strong portfolio and proven leadership are required, with experience in Unreal Engine and/or Unity.

Qualifications

• Senior or Lead level experience in environment art within game development.
• Excellent portfolio of production-ready environments.
• Strong grasp of real-time optimization and trade-offs between fidelity and performance.
• Proficiency with environment production pipelines, modular workflows, LODs, materials and shaders.
• Experience with Unreal Engine and/or Unity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creation of high-quality environments from concept through final implementation.
• Establish and maintain the visual quality bar for environments while meeting technical requirements.
• Create optimized assets including modular kits, architecture, terrain, props, materials, and set dressing.
• Collaborate with Technical Artists, Level Designers, Lighting Artists, and Engineers to balance visuals and performance.
• Define and maintain environment art pipelines, workflows, and technical standards.
• Identify and resolve performance issues related to geometry, textures, lighting, draw calls, memory usage, LODs, and asset complexity.
• Review and provide feedback on the work of Environment Artists and mentor their development.
• Collaborate with Art Direction to translate vision into scalable environments.
• Participate in profiling and optimization throughout production.

Skills

Leadership & mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Maya

3ds Max

Job description

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for a Lead Environmental Artist who combines a strong artistic eye with solid technical expertise. This role is not only about creating visually impressive environments — we need someone who understands how to build high-quality, optimized, production-ready environments that perform efficiently in a real-time game engine.

ABOUT US

Xsolla is a global commerce company with robust tools and services to help developers solve the inherent challenges of the video game industry. From indie to AAA, companies partner with Xsolla to help them fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games. Grounded in the belief in the future of video games, Xsolla is resolute in the mission to bring opportunities together, and continually make new resources available to creators. Headquartered and incorporated in Los Angeles, California, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record and has helped over 1,500+ game developers to reach more players and grow their businesses around the world. With more paths to profits and ways to win, developers have all the things needed to enjoy the game. For more information, visit xsolla.com.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the creation of high-quality environments from concept through final implementation.
• Establish and maintain the visual quality bar for environments while ensuring technical and performance requirements are met.
• Create optimized environment assets, including modular kits, architecture, terrain, props, materials, and set dressing.
• Work closely with Technical Artists, Level Designers, Lighting Artists, and Engineers to balance visual quality with performance.
• Define and maintain environment art pipelines, workflows, and technical standards.
• Identify and resolve performance issues related to geometry, materials, textures, lighting, draw calls, memory usage, LODs, and asset complexity.
• Review and provide feedback on the work of Environment Artists and support their professional development.
• Collaborate with Art Direction to translate the artistic vision into scalable and technically achievable environments.
• Participate in profiling and optimization throughout production rather than treating optimization as a final-stage task.

REQUIREMENTS

• Strong professional experience as a Senior or Lead Environment Artist in game development.
• Excellent portfolio demonstrating visually compelling, production-ready environments.
• Strong understanding of real-time optimization and the ability to make informed trade-offs between visual fidelity and performance.
• Advanced knowledge of environment production pipelines, modular workflows, LODs, materials, shaders, texture optimization, and asset budgets.
• Strong proficiency with industry-standard 3D tools and experience working in Unreal Engine and/or Unity.
• Good understanding of lighting, composition, scale, color, and environmental storytelling.
• Ability to profile environments, identify technical bottlenecks, and collaborate with technical teams to resolve them.
• Leadership and mentoring experience, with the ability to provide clear and constructive artistic and technical feedback.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Benefits

We are passionate about fostering a supportive environment for our team, so we prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of our employees through a comprehensive Benefits Program. This includes unlimited Flexible Time Off and a personalized career roadmap for each employee. By investing in professional development through training and educational opportunities, we ensure that our team thrives both personally and professionally. Together, we’re not just building a business; we’re cultivating a community that values creativity, collaboration, and the transformative power of play.

The duties and responsibilities of this position may evolve over time to support the organization’s goals and individual growth. This job description is intended to outline the general nature and level of work being performed and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required.

By submitting your application, you consent to Xsolla conducting background checks, where permitted by law, after the final interview stage. All checks will comply with local regulations, and your information will be handled confidentially.

Xsolla takes your privacy seriously and will not sell or externally distribute any personal data received during the hiring process. In accordance with applicable data protection laws, Xsolla is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy.

For any inquiries related to data privacy, please contact: [e-mail]

Explore more opportunities at: https://xsolla.com/careers