Lead Environment Artist (Retro Studios)

Nintendo•Austin, TX

About The Position

Founded in 1998, Retro Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd., and a powerhouse in game development. Working hand-in-hand with Nintendo, we craft award-winning titles for the company's cutting-edge platforms, blending innovation, artistry, and gameplay excellence. Our home base is Austin, Texas, a vibrant city known for its creative energy, live music, stunning natural scenery, and forward-thinking culture. With year-round sunshine and endless options for outdoor adventures, Austin offers the perfect backdrop for world-class developers to stay inspired, balanced, and at the top of their game. Works with Art Director, and department leads to help determine and implement the vision for environment art for Retro Studios projects. Prioritizes, reviews, and guides the environment art team to achieve the defined vision through collaborative leadership. Works with direct reports to assess strengths and challenges and plans appropriate professional growth goals. Tracks individual and team progress toward professional goals, identifies resources needed to support achieving them, and gives candid feedback. Responsible for working with Production to prioritize environment art and assign work to team members accordingly. Works closely with Tech Art and Engineering to identify appropriate techniques and systems to provide streamlined and efficient production pipelines. Handles performance evaluations, bonus reviews, and any necessary disciplinary plans for direct reports. Makes recommendations for promotions of direct reports. Responsible for having 1-1 meetings with direct reports to support strong communication and better understanding of career goals. Coordinates with Development Management Team to understand evolving needs of the larger team. This job description outlines primary duties and requirements and is not intended to identify all tasks that may be performed; individuals occupying the position may be required to perform other duties. The company may modify job duties from time to time, either in practice or in writing.

Requirements

A solid artistic eye.
Thorough understanding of artistic/technical requirements for video game production pipelines.
Excellent communication, organizational, personal, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to build and manage teams through strong leadership.
Experience creating environment art specifically for video game software.
Proven proficiency with video game production software.
10+ years' experience in video game production, including several product cycles.
Undergraduate degree in art related subject; or completion of an intensive art training program; or equivalent independent study and experience.

Responsibilities

Works with Art Director, and department leads to help determine and implement the vision for environment art for Retro Studios projects.
Prioritizes, reviews, and guides the environment art team to achieve the defined vision through collaborative leadership.
Works with direct reports to assess strengths and challenges and plans appropriate professional growth goals.
Tracks individual and team progress toward professional goals, identifies resources needed to support achieving them, and gives candid feedback.
Responsible for working with Production to prioritize environment art and assign work to team members accordingly.
Works closely with Tech Art and Engineering to identify appropriate techniques and systems to provide streamlined and efficient production pipelines.
Handles performance evaluations, bonus reviews, and any necessary disciplinary plans for direct reports.
Makes recommendations for promotions of direct reports.
Responsible for having 1-1 meetings with direct reports to support strong communication and better understanding of career goals.
Coordinates with Development Management Team to understand evolving needs of the larger team.