Associate Art Director

Zynga’s Emerging Platforms team is a research and development group exploring and developing innovative content to launch on new platforms. As a member of the Emerging Platforms team, you will be working on a small, fast-paced team whose goal is to explore, learn about, develop, and release games on new platforms, sometimes more than one game a year. We are looking for self-starters who will give not only their work but be an active member of the entire game development process. Working on this small team means you will have a big impact on the game design, vision, deliverables, and overall game success. In addition to developing and shipping new games on different platforms, you will also be part of supporting the Live Operations for these games. This person should have strong game instincts and interest in working on a variety of games in the fast-paced, exciting, exploratory field of Emerging Platforms.

Zynga is looking for an extraordinary Art leader to oversee art development on the Emerging Platforms team. We are looking for candidates that have broad generalist skills and a wealth of experience in prototyping and new game development - that also can scale a team and take it into liveOps if the team taps into something worth investing in. Initially, this role is about exploration, discovery and execution. Our ideal candidate is a resourceful, hands-on problem solver that can cover gaps and wear many hats. The team may find a potential opportunity on a new platform, and this person will work closely with the other Emerging Platforms leaders to strategize how they can rapidly and efficiently validate the opportunity.

Beyond the ability to meet production deadlines and business goals, this position requires an eye for quality and fun, as the Associate Art Director is ultimately accountable for work that will be seen and experienced by millions of players around the world. Not only will you be leading the vision for the game's visual presentation, but you will be producing art for multiple games a year in a fast-paced and thrilling environment. 

If you are motivated, versatile and experienced in providing art direction, with an appreciation for games, a passion for new technology, and don’t mind rolling up your sleeves, this is a very exciting opportunity. This position can be located in San Mateo, CA or Austin, TX.

• Research, hands-on prototyping, art creation, art direction, and rapid iteration.

• On a game-by-game basis, develop a strong visual direction that delivers the game vision, and inspires excitement, while appealing to players on a wide range of platforms.

• Create Art Style Guides that establish standards for visual design, color theory, layout, shape language, typography and more. 

• Cultivate original and creative ideas for products, services or work processes across multiple art teams.

• Collaborate with team leadership to set the high level goals and appropriate tone for a project at a strategic level, and on a feature-by-feature basis.

• Strategizing development plans for new prototype initiatives with other senior team leaders.

• Participate in project scheduling, including breaking down tasks, setting achievements, and ensuring feature estimates are accurately scoped and planned.

• Ensure all released art content, developed internally and externally, is consistent and high quality.

• Lead outsourced art development and communication with external developers.

• Build art asset pipelines and continually improve and optimize the art development processes.

• Lead inter-department communications as they relate to art.

• Show strength in multitasking and context switching when both building creative and running technical art-related tasks.

• Researching and building expertises about new platforms, limitations and their potential player bases. Learn new tools and technologies on new platforms.

• Create highly polished pitch decks for new games and pitch concepts to partners as needed.

• Work on the creation of Marketing materials for launch titles, including static art and video content.

• Set high standards for asset management, documentation, organization and quality control.

• Assist with hiring/recruiting of team members, sourcing freelancers and external studios as needed.

• Guide the Art Team’s career development, support a culture of learning, and mentor Art Leads.

• Bachelor’s degree in a creative field.

• Art “Generalist” with background in concept, UI, 3D modeling, texture painting, and tech art.

• 5+ years of experience managing a creative team.

• 5+ years working on games

• Experience in developing and launching new games.

• Shows strong leadership in any situation. Able to identify and act upon challenges before they become major issues.

• Strong communicator, proven leadership skills and high emotional intelligence.

• Self-starter that can work independently, as well as thrive in a team environment.

• Experience working with cross functional teams throughout the entire game development lifecycle.

• Have a comprehensive understanding of multiple creative disciplines and how they function in the gaming pipeline.

• Experience collaborating on roadmaps and creating cross discipline production pipelines

• Knowledge of software like Adobe Creative Suite, JIRA, Google Suite, Figma, Perforce, and more.

• Experience with user and marketability testing

• Passionate about games - Zynga games, a plus!

• Have a high quality portfolio with works that apply.

• Be an artist at heart! 

Zynga offers a world-class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $114,400 and $169,300 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an 'at-will position' and the company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation or benefit program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.