Lead Character Artist

OUR STUDIO

At Housemarque, we believe gameplay always comes first. With technical excellence and compelling narrative, spiced with our trademark neon flair and top-notch audiovisual feedback, we want our players to always feel actively engaged with the worlds we have created for them.

Our latest Award-Winning game Returnal, released on PS5 in 2021, embraces all these qualities. THIS is our DNA!

We value Nordic work-life balance by growing sustainably and ensuring our employees have the time and means to develop personally and professionally during work time.

We were established in 1995 with strong roots in the Finnish demoscene. In June 2021 we joined the PlayStation Studios, after years of partnership.

If you wish to join us for our next journey, apply today!

Housemarque is looking for a talented Lead Character Artist to join our team!

THE JOB

As the Lead Character Artist, you will work closely with the Technical Art Director and help supervise the character art department, making sure our character quality stays consistent with the high visual standards set by the Art Director.

You will bring a strong track record of working with high-end, real-time character art pipelines, technologies, and tools, combined with excellent communication and people management skills. You will help define best practices, improve character creation workflows, and ensure the team maintains both artistic quality and technical performance across the project.

If you're passionate about crafting memorable characters, supporting a talented team, and creating stunning real-time visuals, we'd love to hear from you!

Important: A portfolio with a breakdown showcasing high-end, photoreal character work is required. Applications missing this will be automatically discarded.

What will your day-to-day look like?

• Work with the Art Director and Technical Art Director to plan and scope character needs for each project.

• Define and maintain best practices and workflows for real-time photoreal character creation.

• Lead and mentor the character art team, encouraging professional growth and team cohesion.

• Balance leadership tasks with hands-on content creation (sculpting, modeling, grooming, texturing, and look development).

• Support character team members in their daily tasks when needed.

• Review character work regularly, offering both technical and artistic feedback, with a focus on both anatomy and facial authenticity.

• Ensure consistency in character style, proportions, facial realism, and quality across the entire project.

• Collaborate with other departments to ensure characters meet visual, gameplay, and technical needs.

• Help drive conversations with Rigging, Animation, and Technical Art teams regarding character features and improvements.

• Manage character tasks, bugs, and priorities together with Production and QA teams.

• Troubleshoot and resolve performance and deformation issues related to characters.

• Plan, assign, and review the team’s work.

• Appraise performance, provide feedback, and support career growth.

• Foster a positive, inclusive, and safe work environment.
  
  

What will help you to be successful in this role?

• Shipped at least one PC/Console title as a Lead Character Artist.

• 8+ years of experience in AAA game development (PC and/or console).

• Expert knowledge of high and low poly character modeling, sculpting, texturing, and materials.

• Strong understanding of anatomy, proportion, and form.

• Deep familiarity with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) for realistic facial expressions and blendshape creation.

• Experience working with Lightstage photogrammetry data and integrating it into real-time character pipelines.

• Good understanding of real-time character pipelines and optimization techniques.

• Ability to optimize character assets for performance and memory budgets without sacrificing quality.

• Strong eye for aesthetics, silhouette, and design.

• Familiar with version control systems like Perforce.

• Experience with project management tools like Jira.

• Fluent written and verbal English skills.

• A genuine passion for video games.
  
  

Bonus skills

• Experience with Unreal Engine or a proprietary AAA engine.

• Background in traditional arts like sculpture or figure drawing.

• Experience working with facial scanning pipelines, advanced facial rigging, and real-time facial animation systems.
  
  

What we offer to you?

• Competitive salary, benefits, healthcare, Nordic work-life balance

• Tailored immigration and relocation package to help you get settled into Finland

• State-of-the-art studio facilities in the heart of Helsinki

• Freedom, flexibility and openness in a collaborative culture

• Brilliant, diverse and empathetic colleagues to work with

• Exciting and ambitious projects executed with the best tools

• Access to PlayStation Studios collaboration, games and more!
  
  

This is a permanent, full-time position based in Helsinki, Finland.

We will start interviewing promising candidates immediately so please apply as soon as possible.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Housemarque is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer with a commitment to a culture of inclusion and mutual respect for all employees from every walk of life, reflecting the community we make games for. We welcome and encourage applications from all suitable candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race and ethnicity, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships. We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity.