Art Director

About CerebralFix:

We're a vibrant, creative team at the forefront of original game development, rewarded games, and work-for-hire projects. Our passion is crafting innovative, engaging entertainment that resonates on a global scale. By merging cutting-edge technology, captivating storytelling, and bold artistic vision, we deliver immersive experiences across multiple mediums. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, we prioritise client satisfaction and innovation, ensuring that every project we touch meets the highest standards of creativity and quality.

Role Overview:

As Art Director, you will define and oversee the visual style and artistic direction of our games—from concept to final polish. You'll lead a multidisciplinary team of artists, champion the visual identity of both original IP and client projects, and ensure every asset supports gameplay and storytelling goals. You'll balance high-level vision with hands-on execution, providing mentorship, direction, and structure to drive artistic excellence across the studio.

Key Responsibilities:

Creative Vision & Direction

• Define and communicate the visual style and tone for both original IP and work-for-hire projects.
• Develop high-level art direction documents and visual references aligned with gameplay, narrative, and audience expectations.
• Ensure consistency of visual direction across all asset types—including environments, characters, UI/UX, and VFX.
• Represent visual design on high-complexity projects, acting as a creative authority on worldbuilding, characters, and narrative tone.
• Uphold visual quality and brand integrity across all assigned projects.
• Deliver clear visual feedback and direction through draw-overs, paint-overs, and written notes to ensure brand authenticity and creative excellence.
  
  

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and inspire a multidisciplinary art team across concept, environment, character, VFX, UI, and animation.
• Provide clear, constructive feedback and hands-on guidance to help the art team, freelancers, and external vendors collaborate and succeed.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and creatively ambitious studio culture.
• Mentor the team art leads and identify skill gaps. Help them grow in their career and develop skills.
• Initiate training programs to improve the quality standards of the artists in the studio.
  
  

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

• Partner with design, engineering, and production to ensure visuals support gameplay and performance goals.
• Adapt direction to meet the unique requirements of both original and client IP while maintaining creative integrity.
• Communicate with clients and partners as needed to align on visual expectations and feedback loops.
  
  

Production & Execution

• Review and approve key assets throughout development to ensure quality, consistency, and performance standards are met.
• Help scope, prioritize, and schedule art tasks in alignment with project timelines, budgets, and team capacity.
• Collaborate with production and art leads on resourcing, tasking, workflow design, and risk assessment.
• Proactively support project planning to minimize misalignment and improve accuracy in task estimation.
• Drive continuous improvement of pipelines and workflows across internal and external teams.
• Maintain and organize current and archived production art assets for accessibility and reuse.
  
  

Studio & Portfolio Development

• Help shape the long-term visual identity of the studio's original IP.
• Contribute to proposals and pitches for new projects, including visual mockups and art direction treatments.
• Support recruitment efforts by identifying talent and contributing to portfolio reviews and interviews.
• Support special internal initiatives beyond game development, such as team branding, presentations, and bespoke visual executions.
  
  

Professional Experience

• 10+ years in art production for games or interactive media, with at least 5 years focused on 3D environments
• 5+ years as an Art Director in a game studio or equivalent creative leadership role
• Proven experience leading and managing cross-disciplinary art teams, including direct reports
• Comfortable working from a blank canvas—defining and driving artistic vision from concept to execution
• Strong understanding of game development workflows, art pipelines, and cross-functional collaboration
• Frequent experience with rapid prototyping (in-engine or using tools like Figma)
  
  

Creative & Technical Expertise

• Deep proficiency with end-to-end art production tools, including:
  • 3D: Maya, Blender, Houdini
  • Texturing: Substance Suite
  • Engines: Unity, Unreal Engine
  • Design & Collaboration: Figma, Miro, Adobe Creative Suite
    Project Management: Google Workspace, Jira, Confluence
• Strong UI/UX sensibilities and usability instincts
• Skilled in building and optimizing art pipelines for real-time 3D experiences
  
  

Our Culture:

At CerebralFix we value a strong commitment to whānaungatanga, enjoying collaboration with teams made up of diverse people and skill sets. We practice manaakitanga by inspiring others with a positive attitude, respect, kindness and leading by example. We encourage continual learning and growth, to build resilience and happiness. We believe that building relationships leads to great outcomes both culturally and operationally.

Our Values:

I am an Explorer

I Take Initiative

I Create Fun

I Put Inclusivity First