Lead Concept Artist – Unannounced Game | Irvine, CA

Team Name:

At Blizzard, we craft genre-defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations – only made possible by building a work environment that cultivates the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.

We are looking for a
Lead Concept Artist
to help craft a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. As a key creative leader on the development team, you willbe responsible for defining and delivering high-quality concept artwork thatestablishesthe visual foundation of the project, including characters, environments, storyboards, and key art. You are comfortable operating in a dynamic, early-development environment and navigating ambiguity with purpose while balancing creative ambition with production realities.

Location Fixed

This role isanticipatedto be a full-time, hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work from home. The home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Lead, manage, and mentor concept artists across multiple initiatives, including characters, environments, storyboards, and key art, while instilling best practices and scalable workflows.

• Partner closely with the Art Director, Production Designer, and Production to define, document, and uphold the project’s visual style and quality bar.

• Oversee the concept art process frominitialbrief through final approval, ensuringtimelydelivery within production constraints.

• Collaborate with design, art, and production partners toanticipateconcept needs and align creative output with gameplay and narrative goals.

• Prepare clear and detailed concept briefs for internal and external artists.

• Provide consistent, actionable feedback to artists thatsupportscreative direction, gameplay needs, and visual clarity.

• Lead by example through hands-on contribution, including paint-overs, benchmarks, andexploratoryconceptwork when appropriate.

• Maintain and continuously improve concept art pipelines, processes, and workflows to increase efficiency and quality.

• Identify opportunities to improve visual quality, team productivity, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Champion Blizzard Entertainment’s co revalues and contribute to a collaborative, inclusive development culture.

Experience

• Minimum of10+ years of professional AAA concept art experience, or a combination of applicable training and related experience.

• Minimum of 2+ years ofdemonstratedleadership experience managing, mentoring, and developing teams of artists.

• Proven experience contributing to and shipping multiple AAA titles in a relevant concept art role.

• Strong track recordof partnering effectively with art, design, and production teams.

• Ability to take initiative and lead creative efforts with a high degree of ownership and accountability.

• Demonstrated ability to inspire others through an enthusiastic approach to game development and continuous skill growth.

Knowledge and Skills

• Comprehensive understanding of concept art creation for games, including characters, environments, props, and key art.

• Strong visual design, composition, color, lighting, and storytelling skills.

• Experience translating high-level creative direction into clear, actionable visual targets.

• Familiarity with modern digital art tools, workflows, and production pipelines.

• Demonstrated understanding of how concept art supports downstream disciplines such as modeling, animation, VFX, and level design.

Key Attributes

• A collaborative, team-oriented approach to creative problem solving.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate visual ideas and provide constructive feedback.

• A mentorship mindset with a passion for developing artists and building healthy creative teams.

• Comfortoperatingin early development and R&D phases with evolving goals and constraints.

• A player-focused mentality…