In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends and has since gone on to become the most played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Delivering visually stunning experiences for a global audience while also building new games gives artists exciting and complex problems to solve. Here, artists are working not only with one another, but also side-by-side with game designers, narrative writers, and audio designers and engineers to ensure that each piece of content from Riot reaches the level of quality players deserve. From animations to illustrations, cinematics to comics, characters to environments, we work as a team to put players first.

As an Art Lead on this Unpublished R&D Product, you will report into the Art Director. In the role, you will help hire, coach a group of cross discipline artists who bring visuals to life. You will communicate the difficult challenges artists face and set up the best environment for your team to handle those challenges. By understanding the goals and needs of each artist, you will help establish a clear path for everyone to achieve their goals. You will identify strategic art resource needs and promote hiring for all art roles on the team. By being part of the leadership team, you will develop strategies and eliminate obstacles with other leaders across the studio.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with the Producer and other discipline leads to define project strategy, roadmap and milestones while managing and building a team of artists in line with identified project needs.
• Audit the current state of the project in order to form a clear, well considered production plan while setting overall vision and clear targets to help art teams execute efficiently.
• Lynchpin of collaboration and communication between different teams, as well as various stakeholders to ensure consistent alignment across the project.
• Establish the target quality bar for art assets while establishing processes and standards for delivery and production best practices.
• Identify the correct external partners to help scale production as needed. Help identify, recruit, and manage external partners when necessary.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of game development experience as an artist/art lead. You are an experienced artist with deep experience in one area and a broad understanding of all other art disciplines and general game development.
• Experience building and growing teams over time while setting strategy and providing art direction and mentorship for art teams.
• Deep knowledge of decision-making frameworks and abilities, specifically with regards to demonstrated results on game projects.
• Experience communicating and working across multiple teams, both internal and external, with varying cultural values, working styles, norms, and practices. Experience advocating with multi-disciplinary stakeholders in an organization to ensure efficiency.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working on game development for multiple platforms and understanding of art production for each
• Knowledge of the League of Legends game and IP
• Bilingual: Mandarin-speaking

Our Perks:

We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children. Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available. Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations. Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00).