Lead Environment Artist

Mad Head Games; United States; À distance; USD 120 000 - 180 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Premium private medical insurance

Flexible working hours

Remote work options

Referral program

Education and training opportunities

25 days vacation plus additional leave

Résumé du poste

Saber Serbia & Saber Bosnia and Herzegovina is seeking a Lead Environment Artist to shape photorealistic game environments for an unannounced AAA title. You will lead a world-class Environment Art team, collaborate with Art Directors, Design, Tech, and external studios, and oversee the full production pipeline from blockout to in-game delivery.

Strong UE5 expertise and leadership experience are required. Remote work options are available across the EMEA region, with occasional on-site

Qualifications

• Native or fluent English speaker.
• Experience building and leading an Environment Art team on a project where environments are central to the game experience and achieving the highest quality standards.
• Experience working with outsource teams.
• Strong understanding of art, architecture and Level Design and its principles.
• Strong knowledge of 3D software such as 3ds Max, Maya, Blender and ZBrush.
• Strong understanding of PBR workflows and texturing software such as Substance Designer and Substance Painter.
• Strong experience with Unreal Engine 5 and environment workflows.
• Experience creating photorealistic, game-ready environments, including set dressing and beautification.
• Experience creating and maintaining art style guides and technical documentation and guidelines.

Responsabilités

• Collaborate with the Art Director, Design, Tech and Art Leads to align production with Art Direction and project priorities.
• Work closely with the Level Design Lead from initial ideas through blockout and final polished delivery, ensuring gameplay, technical and art direction goals are met.
• Act as the Environment Art point of contact across the project, representing the discipline in reviews, meetings and contributing to key features and cross-functional deliveries.
• Guide Environment Art production across the full pipeline, from blockout and concept interpretation through lookdev, asset creation, set dressing and final in-game delivery.
• Develop and present lookdev proposals, art documentation, style guides and visual solutions that support Art Direction and project goals.
• Resolve challenging visual and technical areas, ensuring concept intent is maintained while delivering functional and visually consistent in-game environments.
• Own the quality of the team's output, providing regular and timely feedback and approvals throughout production to ensure the required visual quality is achieved.
• Test and iterate on levels in lookdev and in-game, regularly play builds, and identify visual, material and performance issues.
• Establish and continuously improve Environment Art pipelines, workflows and technical standards, including technical documentation and art guidelines.
• Work with Tech Art and Rendering to resolve technical issues, manage materials/shaders and improve tools and workflows.
• Manage outsource teams and their delivery, ensuring quality and alignment with project requirements.
• Lead, mentor and support the Environment Art team through clear direction, feedback, 1:1s and coaching.
• Plan and schedule the team's work with the Producer, including estimates, priorities, task and level distribution, capacity, risks and scope, and monitor progress against the planned roadmap.
• Collaborate with HR on recruitment, team structure and performance-related decisions, including promotions and role changes based on individual performance and project needs.

Connaissances

Lead Environment Art

Team Leadership

Unreal Engine 5

Look Development

Outsource Collaboration

Outils

3ds Max

Maya

Blender

ZBrush

Substance Designer

Substance Painter

Unreal Engine 5

Description du poste

Lead Environment Artist

Every level starts as gray boxes. Your job is making sure it doesn't end that way. On our unannounced AAA title, environments carry a big part of the experience, and you could be the one shaping them, from blockout and lookdev to photorealistic final delivery, across in‑house and outsource teams. If you've built and led an Environment Art team before and UE5 is your home turf, keep reading. We're unconventional creators of action games for PC and consoles - extremely fun to work with and definitely not for the faint‑hearted. Formerly known as Mad Head Games, we're now Saber Serbia & Saber Bosnia and Herzegovina , part of Saber Interactive. For 15 years, we've been pioneering the regional game dev scene, and our ambition to lead it hasn't changed. Only the name has. We build our games in Unreal Engine. Our latest title, Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, is a first‑person action horror survival game based on the iconic franchise. Before that, we released Scars Above , an immersive third‑person sci‑fi shooter set in a mysterious alien world, and Pagan: Absent Gods, a fast‑paced single‑player hack‑and‑slash action RPG. On top of that, we've shipped 65 casual and mobile games. Now, we're working on an unannounced AAA title based on a famous and beloved IP that fans are sure to anticipate. We can't reveal much just yet, but it's by far the biggest project we've ever taken on, and we promise it'll generate some serious hype! Join us in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Sarajevo, or remotely (EMEA) . If everything said above ticks all your boxes so far, read on! We might be a match made in heaven!

What will you be doing at Saber? Collaborate with the Art Director, Design, Tech and Art Leads to align production with Art Direction and project priorities. Work closely with the Level Design Lead from initial ideas through blockout and final polished delivery, ensuring gameplay, technical and art direction goals are met. Act as the Environment Art point of contact across the project, representing the discipline in reviews, meetings and contributing to key features and cross‑functional deliveries. Guide Environment Art production across the full pipeline, from blockout and concept interpretation through lookdev, asset creation, set dressing and final in‑game delivery. Develop and present lookdev proposals, art documentation, style guides and visual solutions that support Art Direction and project goals. Resolve challenging visual and technical areas, ensuring concept intent is maintained while delivering functional and visually consistent in‑game environments. Own the quality of the team's output, providing regular and timely feedback and approvals throughout production to ensure the required visual quality is achieved. Test and iterate on levels in lookdev and in‑game, regularly play builds, and identify visual, material and performance issues. Establish and continuously improve Environment Art pipelines, workflows and technical standards, including technical documentation and art guidelines. Work with Tech Art and Rendering to resolve technical issues, manage materials/shaders and improve tools and workflows. Manage outsource teams and their delivery, ensuring quality and alignment with project requirements. Lead, mentor and support the Environment Art team through clear direction, feedback, 1:1s and coaching. Plan and schedule the team's work with the Producer, including estimates, priorities, task and level distribution, capacity, risks and scope, and monitor progress against the planned roadmap. Collaborate with HR on recruitment, team structure and performance‑related decisions, including promotions and role changes based on individual performance and project needs.

What do we expect from our ideal candidate?

Native or fluent English speaker. Experience building and leading a world‑class Environment art team on a project where environments are central to the game experience and achieved the highest quality standards. Experience working with outsource teams. Strong understanding of art, architecture and Level Design and its principles. Strong knowledge of 3D software such as 3ds Max, Maya, Blender and ZBrush. Strong understanding of PBR workflows and texturing software such as Substance Designer and Substance Painter. Strong experience with Unreal Engine 5 and environment workflows. Experience creating photorealistic, game‑ready environments, including set dressing and beautification. Experience creating and maintaining art style guides and technical documentation and guidelines.

It would be a plus if you have:

Experience working as a lead as part of a larger team of environment artists. Strong painting skills for providing artistic feedback. Deep knowledge of standard UE5 technologies such as Nanite and Lumen.

In return, here is what we can give:

The base game: Competitive industry‑standard salary, because we all know that it matters. We prefer to work in a hybrid mode, but we also offer options for regular office‑goers and remote work. Referral program - we want to support team strengthening and hire quality people you want to work with. For your health and stamina bars: Flexible working hours: sleep in or start early - we trust you with your time. More time to rest: 25 days of vacation, plus: company‑wide annual leave in January, short‑term sick leave, additional remote days, additional days for significant life events like childbirths, wedding leaves, and bereavement. A month of 4‑hour workdays for all Mad Heads returning from maternity leave for a gentle return to the workflow. Levelling up your XP: Ongoing education and training: self‑improvement is a priority, so conferences, classes, workshops, and courses (external and internal) are all a part of the package. Work with top talents, senior professionals and teams from your field of work. Back story and environment: An extremely upbeat workplace like you have never seen before. Join a team working from 3 offices - and over 16+ countries around the world. Working shoulder to shoulder with Space Marine, Warhammer and WWZ developers from Saber Interactive (our mother company). On‑site based benefits and perks: Premium private medical insurance. Awesome team‑building events and personalised team‑bonding events tailored to your preferences. Community events: we are heavily involved in developing startup, tech, and gaming ecosystems - and will include you in it. Fitness support - allowances for gym/pool/sport activities. Coffee, fruits, snacks in the office. Merch and gifts.

*Benefits may vary depending on location and contract type. Do not hesitate to ask us about more details on our benefits offer.