Lead Character Artist

Bulkhead; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000

Job description

BULKHEAD is hiring a Lead Character Artist to oversee the development of high-quality character assets for our projects. This role requires a strong artistic and technical background, along with leadership skills to manage a team of character artists. You will work closely with the Art Director, Lead Artists, and Production teams to ensure assets meet both technical and artistic standards.

What you'll be doing

1. Visual Direction & Research – Conduct research, develop visual references, and define the character art pipeline.
2. Asset Creation – Develop realistic, game-ready character assets, ensuring technical efficiency and artistic consistency.
3. Leadership & Team Management – Provide direction, feedback, and mentorship to the Character Art team, ensuring timely and high-quality asset delivery.
4. Collaboration – Work closely with Technical Artists, Animators, and Designers to maintain workflow efficiency.
5. Pipeline & Optimization – Implement best practices for character modeling, texturing, and integration into Unreal Engine 5.
6. Quality Control – Review assets to maintain consistency and resolve technical or artistic challenges.
7. External Partner Coordination – Oversee outsourcing where necessary, ensuring asset quality aligns with project goals.

What we're looking for

1. 8+ years of experience in AAA game character art.
2. Shipped at least one AAA title in a Lead or Senior role.
3. Expertise in ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine 5.
4. Strong understanding of real-time asset creation, rigging, and animation constraints.
5. Experience with character pipelines and optimization techniques.
6. Ability to collaborate across disciplines and manage production schedules.
7. Familiarity with scripting for pipeline automation is a plus.

The Game
You'll be working on Wardogs, an all-out-warfare multiplayer first person shooter. That means infantry combat, tank warfare, jet dog fighting, and artillery barrages. We play test the game twice a week, so you'll have lots of time to get stuck in and really be a part of the game you're creating.