Art Lead

We are a plucky, independent, fully remote video game studio primarily based in the UK, and makers of the widely praised and highly rated Galacticare and War for the Overworld. The core team has joined together from all over the world because of a shared passion for building brighter universes. Our goal is to continue creating genre-twisting 3D simulation and management games; and if we can do it with a quirkily British sense of humour, then all the better!

Role Overview

We're looking for an Art Lead to own the visual identity of Brightrock Games, with immediate focus on our current production, Kaiju Cleanup.

You'll be joining a small, tight knit team of developers helping us push and blend the boundaries of traditional game genres. As an Art Lead, you're responsible for leading art across every discipline - concept, character, environment, VFX, UI/UX and technical art and for making sure that direction holds up against a real production schedule.

We're looking for someone who has led art on a shipped title, can build a visual language from scratch, is comfortable mentoring artists across disciplines and seniority levels, and knows composition, colour and lighting well enough to also know what's realistic on an indie budget.

Key Responsibilities

1 - Define and Own the Art Vision

Success looks like:

• Set the visual style for Brightrock's titles: art bibles, mood boards, and reference standards that keep every discipline pointed the same direction.
• Keep concept art, characters, environments, VFX, and UI reading as one world, not five.
• Sign off on key art milestones, and say no when quality and schedule are actually in conflict.

2 - Lead and Develop the Art Team

Success looks like:

• Direct and mentor artists across disciplines, with feedback specific enough to act on.
• Hire and onboard as the team grows, and shape the art pipeline and tools as you go.
• Keep the team collaborative: craft matters more than title here, same as everywhere else at the studio.

3 - Liaise Across the Studio

Success looks like:

• Work with Creative and Game Design to turn concepts and gameplay needs into a visual direction that reads clearly on screen.
• Work with Production on scheduling and priority calls, flagging risk early rather than at the deadline.
• Work with the Technical team to keep the art performant, and with Marketing/Community on trailers, store pages, and other external art.

Requirements

• A portfolio showing art direction on at least one shipped PC/console title, with a visual language you can point to and explain.
• Working knowledge across concept, character, and environment art and VFX. You don't need to be the best in the studio at each, but you need to be able to critique and guide all of them.
• Comfortable with Photoshop and either Blender or 3ds Max, plus the Substance suite; enough Unity knowledge to know what's technically realistic.
• A strong eye for composition, colour, and lighting, and the ability to say why something works, not just that it does.
• Experience managing or mentoring artists, with feedback that improves the work without wrecking morale.
• A fit for a small indie team, where collaboration counts for more than a title.

Desirable:

• Happy to jump in and fix or build an asset yourself, not just direct from a distance.
• Understands performance limits: draw calls, LODs, lighting budgets - and how they shape art decisions.
• Knows Houdini or similar, and likes building modular/trim-sheet workflows that save the team time.
• Has a keen interest in emergent technologies and their potential applications.
• Has produced or directed key art, trailers, or store assets before.

Please Note: This is a full-time, remote-working position, open to anyone within the UK & Europe.

Benefits

Our benefits include a 2-week company summer break and a 2-week winter break to rest and recharge, in addition to your normal holiday allowance.

- Portfolio demonstrating art direction on at least one shipped PC/console title with a demonstrable visual language. - Working knowledge across concept, character, environment art, and VFX for critique and guidance. - Proficiency with Photoshop, Blender/3ds Max, Substance suite, and basic Unity knowledge. - Strong understanding of composition, color, and lighting. - Experience managing or mentoring artists with effective feedback. - A collaborative mindset suited for a small indie team.