Art Director

Impact Theory•Los Angeles, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

Level Up Games, LLC, the game development studio behind Kyzen, is hiring an experienced Art Director for a temporary, full-time assignment of approximately four to six months, beginning in October or November 2026. The role will lead a focused visual improvement effort for Kyzen, a kid-focused dynamic open-world survival crafting game. The central goal is to make the game feel like a coherent world with a distinct, memorable identity, while raising the quality of its art, mob designs, world assets, procedural asset distribution, lighting, and atmosphere. This is a senior, hands-on position. The Art Director will set visual direction, create references and paintovers, and work closely with the engineering team to develop a style that is both visually effective and performant. The role includes managing a small team, but its core focus is direct design work. The successful candidate is expected to use AI where it can help advance the project and player experience. The assignment is based on-site at the company’s West Hollywood location, Monday through Friday. The position requires availability for the full assignment term.

Requirements

At least 7 years of professional game art experience, including at least 3 years as an Art Director, Environment Artist, or Character Artist.
Meaningful responsibility for visual direction on at least one shipped title.
Current Unreal Engine 5 experience sufficient to communicate effectively with technical leads about performant asset design.
Familiarity with voxel art and/or procedurally generated terrain.
Strong world-building fundamentals and the ability to produce paintovers, references, and prototype assets directly.
Ability to communicate visual direction clearly to engineers and translate art goals into technical requirements.
A portfolio demonstrating cohesive stylized worlds.
Availability to commit to the full duration of the temporary assignment.
Ability to work on-site Monday through Friday at the West Hollywood location.

Responsibilities

Conduct a full visual audit of Kyzen’s existing assets and identify opportunities for improvement.
Establish a unified art direction, including color script, lighting language, material and silhouette rules, scale conventions, and readability standards.
Document the art direction in an art bible usable by the internal team and outsourced partners.
Produce reference and hero assets that demonstrate the target look and feel.
Assess the game’s lighting and work with a lighting artist to improve overall visual quality.
Work with the game designer to help deliver a high-impact product for the target audience.
Partner with the procedural engineer to improve asset-placement rules across all biomes, including density, clustering, scale and rotation variance, slope and altitude rules, and biome transition zones.
Improve per-biome art direction, including palette, flora and rock language, landmark strategy, and silhouette hierarchy.
Translate art goals into technical requirements and collaborate with engineering to ensure performant asset design.
Document standards, rulesets, and technical approaches so the work can be maintained after the assignment ends.
Conduct a structured handoff session with the internal team covering completed work, open items, and recommended next steps.
Use AI where it helps advance the project and delight players.