Art Lead (f/m/d)

Your role:

As the Art Lead, you will take strategic and operational leadership of the Art Team in a project, overseeing all visual disciplines from concept art and 3D modeling to animation, VFX, lighting, and UI/UX.

You will guide a multidisciplinary team of artists to shape the visual direction of our projects and ensure cohesive, high-quality aesthetics across our Double-A productions.

Your leadership will bridge creativity and production reality, fostering collaboration between Art, Tech-Art, Design, and Programming, while ensuring the department operates efficiently and aligned with Aesir’s long-term vision.

The kind of stuff you`ll be doing:

Your day-to-day work combines leadership, art direction, and departmental coordination:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Art Team, aligning visual goals, pipelines, and processes with Aesir’s creative and corporate objectives.
• Support and challenge the team to achieve consistent visual excellence across all projects and platforms.
• Maintain an overview of all art disciplines (Concept, 3D, Animation, VFX, Lighting, UI/UX), ensuring coherent integration and visual consistency.
• Collaborate closely with the Art Director to translate creative vision into actionable production plans.
• Mentor, coach, and guide artists across experience levels, fostering a culture of artistic growth, collaboration, and accountability.
• Work hand in hand with Tech Art, Programming, and Design to ensure seamless integration of assets and optimized pipelines.
• Initiate and drive process improvements, tools adoption, and workflows that enhance efficiency and quality within the department.
• Act as the key link between management, production, and the Art team to ensure timely, high-quality deliveries within budget.
• Represent the Art Team in cross-departmental meetings and communicate priorities and progress proactively.
• Implement and coordinate project guidelines.

Who are we looking for:

We are seeking an experienced and inspiring artistic leader with a holistic understanding of the art production process, someone who can unite multiple disciplines under a shared creative vision and guide them toward production excellence.

• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in game development, including several years in a senior or leadership role within an Art Department.
• Proven ability to lead and develop art teams, including setting goals, providing feedback, and supporting professional growth.
• Broad understanding of key art disciplines (Concept, 3D, Animation, VFX, Lighting, UI/UX) and how they interact in a production pipeline.
• Solid knowledge of game art production workflows, optimization principles, and integration into modern engines (preferably Unreal Engine 5).
• A strong sense of visual storytelling, composition, color, and artistic direction.
• Excellent communication and coordination skills to facilitate cross-department collaboration.
• Strategic mindset with a hands-on approach, able to assess challenges, make informed decisions, and support artists technically and creatively when needed.
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written (German is a plus).

Main responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership of the Art Team in alignment with Aesir’s goals and production plans.
• Ensure artistic quality standards and consistency, while ensuring a the timely delivery of all visual assets.
• Maintain and evolve visual and structural guidelines, ensuring order in and consistency across projects.
• Plan and manage training and development measures to strengthen the team’s artistic and technical expertise.
• Conduct regular feedback sessions, evaluations, and 1:1s to ensure continuous improvement and clear communication.
• Promote cross-department collaboration to maximize creative synergy and project success.
• Oversee and refine art pipelines, tools, and workflows to improve productivity and maintain scalability.
• Support project pitching, visual benchmarks, and marketing art when needed.

Benefits

• A welcoming and vibrant office located just 10 minutes from Munich Central Station, fostering creativity and collaboration.
• A 38-hour workweek, ensuring a healthy work-life balance.
• Relocation support if needed, making your transition to Munich seamless.
• Flexible remote work options tailored to your responsibilities.
• Free drinks (coffee, tea, soft drinks) and weekly fresh organic fruit baskets.
• Monthly prepaid credit card top-up of €50 for added convenience.*
• Recharge your batteries with table tennis or foosball after intense creative sessions.
• Exciting company events that combine knowledge exchange, fun, and team spirit.
• Public transport ticket and lunch subsidy provided.*

*After the probation period.