Associate Art Director

About Us

Liquidnitro Games is India’s flagship live services and game production company, founded by industry veterans with a proven track record in producing massively successful games & live services. For game companies, studios, and publishers worldwide – we offer world-class game development expertise to power creativity, growth, and profitability in their games.

Position Summary

We are seeking a collaborative Associate Art Director to bridge the gap between high-level strategic vision and day-to-day creative production. This is a “player-coach” role requiring tactical oversight and the technical mastery to contribute to visual development from concept to polish across Mobile, PC, and Console. A comprehensive game development understanding is a must.

The ideal candidate has 14+ years of industry experience and will serve as a cultural anchor, driving innovation and ensuring the technical workability of all character and environment concepts.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Support & Visual Consistency (The Portfolio)

• Execute the Vision: Partner closely with the Art Director to translate overarching artistic visions into actionable style guides and quality bars.
• Technical Validation: Conduct in-depth analysis of art concepts, providing detailed feedback to ensure aesthetic appeal and seamless integration within the specific technical framework of the target platform.
• Pipeline Management: Help manage art pipeline efficiencies, ensuring that creative processes are scalable for rapid development cycles and maintain quality consistency.

Hands-On Execution & Versatility (The Craft)

• Master Asset Creation: Act as a highly skilled, hands-on practitioner, capable of producing High quality art, style guides, and “gold-standard” assets across a wide range of visual styles (e.g., stylized, photorealistic, painterly, etc.).
• Cross-Discipline Guidance: Provide expert guidance and critique across specialized art disciplines:
  • Animation: Ensuring assets are functional, expressive, and performant.
  • Visual Effects (VFX): Helping establish visual language and quality standards for particle effects and combat feedback.
  • Technical Art: Collaborating with engineering to optimize assets and shaders for specific platform performance (Mobile, PC, or Console) without compromising artistic integrity.
• AI Integration: Actively research, refine and implement Generative AI strategies to enhance conceptual speed and iterate on direction while maintaining a unique visual identity.

Cultural Leadership & Team Management (The People)

• Lead by Example: Embody Liquidnitro’s core values and maintain absolute transparency in artistic and team-related decision-making processes.
• Mentorship: Mentor, inspire, and manage a team of artists, serving as a cultural anchor by coaching teams on the studio’s high-performance standards.
• Scalable Communication: Ensure effective communication tools are utilized, providing regular, clear updates on project goals, achievements, and structural changes.
• Community Building: Actively foster a strong community through collaborative project critiques and team-building initiatives.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience: 14+ years of professional experience in the video game industry, with at least 3 years in a Lead role specifically on successful Mobile, PC, or Console titles.
• Shipped Titles: Shipped at least 2 original titles across distinct genres.
• Portfolio: Exceptional portfolio demonstrating high-level art creation and versatility across multiple styles and genres.
• AI Proficiency: Proven ability to implement Generative AI strategies into the art pipeline to drive efficiency; expertise in hybrid AI/Manual workflows.
• Technical Knowledge: Deep functional understanding of game development pipelines, including optimization for diverse hardware constraints ranging from mobile to high-end PC/Console.
• Tool Proficiency: Expert-level knowledge of 2D and 3D art tools (e.g., Photoshop, Maya, Blender, Unity/Unreal).
• Analytical Ability: Demonstrated ability to assess and provide validation on character design for market appeal, technical feasibility, and narrative consistency.
• Communication: Excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills.

Our Studio Commitment: Work Environment & Culture

We believe an Associate Art Director should not only help define our art but also define our culture. This role is instrumental in upholding our commitment to an exceptional working environment:

• Promoting Work-Life Balance: We focus on proactive project management and scope control to eliminate forced overtime.
• Encouraging Innovation & Creativity: We support the allocation of Innovation Time for employees to explore new ideas and technologies.
• Maintaining Core Values: We ensure our core values are consistently upheld and integrated into daily operations. The Associate Art Director will be key in helping embed team members into internal projects, ensuring a smooth, value-driven approach.