Associate Art Director, Lighting & VFX

We are seeking an Associate Art Director with a passion for bringing evocative worlds and immersive game experiences to life. Working in collaboration with the Studio Art Director, concept team and narrative teams you will define a new benchmark for visual realism and excellence in games. You will set the atmosphere for the game by directing the world building teams to create a visceral experience for the game, action set pieces and cinematics. With your help we will push the industry to new heights of realism, beauty, gameplay, and storytelling! 

Responsibilities:  

• Design concise and insightful visual development docs focused on vfx, lighting and color scripts. 
• Develop lighting keys tightly aligned to the story and game design.  
• Effectively work with Game Design and the world teams to create exceptional lighting and vfx that balance art and game design pillars. 
• Collaborate with production, lighting, vfx and cinematic teams to define sustainable milestones, schedules and staffing while hitting budgets, quality goals, and dates.  
• Work at the highest level aesthetically while balancing scope, deadlines, and implementation considerations. 
• Create paint-overs, ‘redlines,’ annotations and callouts to facilitate feedback to polish lighting, vfx, production design and mood. 
• Collaborate with the Studio Art Director and Art Leads to define, implement, and nurture the lighting, color and vfx pipelines from inception to final in-game vfx, lighting, and rendering. 

Requirements & Skills:  

• 5+ years of professional games or film concept design.  
• Shipped a AAA game, film or short film as a supervisor or director.  
• Outstanding portfolio demonstrating the ability to create and direct compelling realistic visuals.  
• Exceptional grasp of traditional art theory including composition, lighting, color, value, and shape language.  
• Strong grasp of practical and cgi lighting, color science, vfx and narrative.  
• Professional experience with Photoshop for sketching, paint overs, photo bashing, and color grading.  
• Innate understanding of cinematic and environmental lighting from ‘practical’ naturalist lighting to motivated theatrical lighting. 
• Strong understanding of how to develop, implement and execute efficient reference, color keys, mood art and workflows.  
• (Bonus) Education in art, lighting, film, color science, or related fields  
• (Bonus) Experience with 3D programs such as Maya, ZBrush, Blender, Nuke, Resolve, Fusion etc.  
• (Bonus) Experience working with a game engine to manipulate lighting, LUTS and renders passes.  
• (Bonus) Experience with PBR engines, materials, and the related technical terminology. 

Qualities:  

• Self-motivated and able to work well in a multi-discipline team environment. 
• Hardworking collaborator seeking to advance art and tech through intra-departmental and multi-disciplinary partnerships.  
• Phenomenal team leader and teammate invested in the success and development of multiple teams through encouragement, inspiration, inclusivity, and mutual respect.  
• Adept at leading by example and motivating a team committed to excellence in process, and execution. 
• Strong interpersonal skills with a dedication to building a diverse, hardworking, and empathetic team.  
• Able to communicate effectively, give feedback and direction, as well as adapt to creative and art direction. 

TNM considers a number of factors when determining each role's base pay range, including industry benchmarks, location, experience, and other job specific skills. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for other incentive compensation including equity and profit share. The estimated base pay range for this role is U.S. only and not applicable for locations outside of the U.S.

The estimated base pay range for this role is: $145,000 - $225,000