Principal Character Artist (AAA Games)

TL;DR

Principal Character Artist (AAA Games): Creating and delivering high-fidelity, photorealistic character assets for AAA console and PC games with an accent on realistic anatomy, clothing, equipment, materials, and physically based rendering. Focus on defining character art standards, improving production pipelines, mentoring artists, and solving complex visual and performance challenges in real-time game development.

Location: Onsite in Woodland Hills, California, United States, Monday through Friday. Relocation assistance may be available if required for the role.

Salary: $136,880–$253,260 annual base pay, plus potential incentive compensation.

Company

A game development studio founded in 2002 and known as the original creator of the Call of Duty franchise.

What you will do

• Create realistic characters, clothing, gear, accessories, and other high-quality character assets.
• Collaborate with Art Directors, Producers, Animators, Technical Artists, and other development teams.
• Apply knowledge of military uniforms, equipment, and tactical gear to ensure authenticity.
• Champion character art quality, performance, visual fidelity, and production efficiency.
• Mentor artists through feedback, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
• Advocate for best practices, pipeline improvements, and workflow efficiencies.

Requirements

• 15+ years of professional character art experience in game development.
• Exceptional portfolio demonstrating photorealistic character art, organic and hard-surface modeling, clothing, equipment, materials, and texturing.
• Experience shipping AAA console or PC titles, preferably first-person shooter games.
• Advanced proficiency with Maya or 3ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, and Substance Painter or Designer.
• Deep understanding of game art pipelines, real-time workflows, modern game engines, anatomy, clothing construction, form, silhouette, proportion, and PBR.
• Strong communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and creative leadership skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with scan-based character creation and photogrammetry.
• Knowledge of contemporary game art trends and visual storytelling.
• Experience defining character art standards, pipelines, and production processes.
• Previous leadership, mentorship, or principal-level experience in AAA development.

Culture & Benefits

• Creative, collaborative, innovative, and continuously improving development environment.
• Medical, dental, vision, healthcare spending, life, disability, and related insurance programs.
• 401(k) with company match, tuition reimbursement, and charitable donation matching.
• Paid holidays, vacation, sick time, parental leave, bereavement leave, and floating holidays.
• Mental health, wellbeing, and fitness programs, along with free and discounted games.