Lead Character Artist

Job description

We are seeking a talented **Lead Character Artist** to join our dynamic Development team at Avalanche Studios Group in Stockholm. In this role, you'll act as a vital link between our Art Director and a team of artists, ensuring the artistic vision is translated into outstanding visual content, with a **strong emphasis on animal and creature design**. If you're passionate about leadership, realism-driven creature art, and long-term creative excellence, we want to hear from you. ### What you'll do - Lead and inspire a team of talented artists, clearly communicating and implementing the artistic vision to deliver exceptional quality visuals, **with a strong focus on animals, and characters**. - Act as a subject-matter expert in **animal anatomy, behavior, and realism**, ensuring authenticity and visual credibility across all creature assets. - Oversee visual asset creation, ensuring artwork meets productivity, delivery, and quality benchmarks throughout the pipeline. - Collaborate cross-functionally with designers, developers, and other stakeholders to resolve bottlenecks, improve workflows, and foster a positive, high-performing team culture. - Occasionally contribute hands-on to asset creation, using your artistic expertise to guide quality, consistency, and problem-solving at a high level. - Advocate for **systemic improvements**, scalable solutions, and long-term thinking within art production and pipelines. ### People Management - Support your direct reports throughout their entire employee journey, from hiring and onboarding to performance evaluations and career growth. - Actively engage in team members’ professional development by providing constructive feedback, mentorship, and clear growth paths. - Handle administrative responsibilities such as approving time reports, leave requests, and maintaining accurate employee records. - Serve as a company representative regarding organizational, cultural, and legal responsibilities, ensuring compliance with workplace standards, employee privacy, and working conditions. ### Who you are - Extensive experience in game development within Art departments, with a **high degree of expertise in animal and creature design**, as well as strong foundations in general character art. - Deep understanding of **realistic anatomy, materials, fur/skin workflows, and creature-specific production challenges**. - Proven leadership skills with a track record of coaching and developing high-performing art teams. - Strong organizational and communication skills, able to align artistic goals across multiple disciplines. - Experience with or strong interest in **pipeline creation, optimization, and long-term workflow improvements**. - A proactive, solution-oriented mindset and a passion for improving both creative quality and production efficiency.