Senior 3D Character Outsource Manager

Summary

Join Wildlight Entertainment, a remote-first AAA game studio, as a Senior 3D Character Outsource Manager. You will oversee the outsourcing of character assets, ensuring they meet artistic and technical standards. Collaborate closely with external partners, providing feedback and guidance. This role demands strong character artistry and management skills, combining craft expertise with a keen sense of aesthetics. You'll contribute to a new IP and work in a collaborative environment. We offer competitive salaries, bonuses, and royalties, along with comprehensive benefits.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience as a Character Artist in the game industry, with at least 2 years working directly with outsourcing teams
• Expertise in real-time character creation pipelines, including modeling, sculpting, texturing, and rendering
• Strong proficiency with industry-standard tools like Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal/Unity engines
• Strong sense of anatomy, form, proportions, and materials, with an exceptional eye for detail and aesthetics
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate artistic and technical feedback
• Experience in creating briefs and reference documentation
• Ability to troubleshoot and solve technical issues related to character assets, collaborating with technical artists to address challenges
• Comfortable working with various team members, and balancing the needs of internal and external partners
• A strong portfolio showcasing real-time character assets and paintover examples demonstrating your feedback process

Responsibilities

• Serve as the main point of contact between Wildlight and our outsourcing partners for character assets
• Provide clear, actionable feedback through written notes, paintovers, and reviews to ensure art quality and direction are maintained
• Prepare detailed outsourcing packages, including briefs, reference materials, and guidelines
• Review incoming assets to ensure they meet quality standards and align with technical requirements
• Maintain and reinforce the art direction by working closely with the art director and leads
• Provide hands-on artistic support when needed, including polishing or revising assets
• Work closely with animators, and tech artists to ensure seamless integration of outsourced assets into the game engine
• Work with the character lead and tech artists to help maintain and improve the pipeline, ensuring efficient workflows for delivering assets
• Regularly review outsourced assets for technical and artistic accuracy, ensuring all characters meet production requirements
• Guide outsourcing studios on best practices, art foundations, and techniques to uphold our aesthetic and technical standards

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with rigging and character technical setup for game engines
• A deep understanding of first person shooter game development processes

Benefits

• Competitive industry standard base salaries
• An annual bonus
• Royalties
• Base salary range is $130,000 to $170,000 (USD)
• No-crunch culture
• Unlimited PTO policy
• Comprehensive healthcare, dental & vision coverage for you and your family
• Paid parental leave