Technical Art Director

• Champion the Technical Art Vision: Define and drive the technical art standards and visual benchmarks, ensuring they align with creative goals and push the boundaries of visual fidelity across all art disciplines.
• Drive R&D: Spearhead the research and adoption of emerging technologies to give Sparx* and our clients a competitive edge in aesthetics and performance.
• Executive Collaboration: Serve as a strategic partner to Art Directors, Producers, Studio leadership, and other Virtuos studio, influencing high-level decisions to balance visual ambition with technical feasibility.
• Strategic Planning: Lead pre-production planning and technical assessments to anticipate risks early, designing robust mitigation strategies that protect the project schedule and quality.

• Mentor and Empower Talent: Go beyond simple guidance by actively mentoring team members, fostering their career growth, and cultivating a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Build Knowledge Sharing Culture: Establish professional standards for documentation and knowledge sharing, ensuring that "best practices" actively adopted across the studio.
• Facilitate Problem Solving: Lead the team in solving complex architectural challenges, encouraging autonomy and critical thinking within the team.

• Architect Scalable Workflows: Own the strategy for efficient, robust End-to-End (E2E) art pipelines. Ensure these workflows are scalable across multiple projects and optimized for platform performance.
• Optimize Global Operations: Collaborate with Art Leads and the wider Virtuos network to conceive and refine global pipelines, ensuring seamless integration between Sparx* and other Virtuos Studios.

• Cultivate Client Trust: Act as the primary technical liaison for clients, moving beyond "support" to become a trusted advisor who proactively identifies opportunities, offers solutions, and raises the quality bar.
• Elevate Deliverables: Ensure that all technical output meets a world-class standard that reinforces the studio's reputation for excellence.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Art, or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• At least 5+ years of experience as a Lead Technical Artist or Technical Art Director in the video game industry, with at least one shipped AAA title.
• Deep understanding of end-to-end game art pipeline, using art creation tools and software, such as Photoshop, Maya, ZBrush, Substance, etc.
• Proficiency in scripting and programming languages, such as Python, C#, C++, etc. sufficient to review, guide and prototype solutions.
• Strong understanding of game engine technologies and platforms, such as Unreal Engine, Unity, etc., with solid grasp of rendering, performance optimization and platform constraints.
• Experience collaborating closely with Art Directors, Producers, Technical Directors to influence strategic decisions and mitigate technical risk while pushing art quality.
• Experience architecting scalable workflows and pipeline solutions that support multiple teams, projects, and platforms.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to mentor and motivate the art/technical art teams.
• Passionate about video games and up to date with the latest trends and innovations in the industry.

Virtuos