About the role
Company Overview
Mad Head Games is a developer of action games for PC and consoles. The company is a regional game development leader currently working on an unannounced AAA title, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival (a first-person action horror survival game), and the previously released 3rd-person sci-fi shooter Scars Above. The company operates across offices in Novi Sad, Belgrade, and Sarajevo, with remote work options available. They are a partner of Saber Interactive.
Responsibilities
- 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.
Requirements
- 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.
Preferred Qualifications
- 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.
Benefits and Perks
- Competitive industry-standard salary.
- Hybrid working mode with options for office or remote work.
- Referral program for hiring.
- Flexible working hours.
- 25 days of vacation, company-wide annual leave in January, short-term sick leave, additional remote days, and time off for significant life events.
- A month of 4-hour workdays for employees returning from maternity leave.
- Ongoing education and training, including conferences, classes, and workshops.
- Premium private medical insurance.
- Team-building and bonding events.
- Participation in startup, tech, and gaming ecosystem events.
- Fitness support (allowances for gym/pool/sport activities).
- In-office snacks, coffee, and fruit.
- Company merch and gifts.