Expert Character Artist

Location: San Mateo, California, United States

Salary: $127,500–$188,700 per year

Company

31st Union is a diverse game development team within hirify.global, focused on building high-quality games through collaborative and inclusive production.

What you will do

• Create benchmark characters, creatures, and weapons from high-resolution sculpts through modeling, topology, UVs, baking, texture painting, materials, and engine integration.
• Translate concepts and creative briefs into production-ready assets supporting gameplay, animation, narrative, and the project’s art direction.
• Establish visual and technical standards through benchmark assets, documentation, and workflow improvements.
• Collaborate with art and cross-discipline teams to ensure assets deform, perform, and read correctly in game.
• Mentor artists through critique and example-setting while managing complex assignments, priorities, dependencies, and risks.
• Oversee external art vendors by clarifying expectations, reviewing deliverables, and providing actionable feedback.

Requirements

• Typically 8+ years of professional character art experience in games, including contributions to multiple shipped titles.
• An exceptional online portfolio with breakdowns demonstrating artistic judgment, technical execution, and stylistic range.
• Mastery of anatomy, proportion, costume, color, materials, and design.
• Expert command of real-time character pipelines, including high-resolution sculpting and modeling, game topology, UVs, texturing, PBR and NPR materials, performance optimization, and engine integration.
• Expert proficiency with ZBrush, Maya, Substance 3D Painter, Unreal Engine, Photoshop, or equivalent software.
• Ability to work independently, solve complex visual and technical problems, collaborate across disciplines, communicate clearly, and mentor other artists.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative environment built around inclusivity, safety, trust, growth, and innovation.
• Medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage for eligible full-time employees.
• Paid holidays, vacation, sick days, parental leave, and compassionate leave.
• Mental health, wellbeing, family planning, commuter, and fitness reimbursement benefits.
• Eligibility for bonus or equity awards, a 401(k) plan, and an Employee Stock Purchase Program.