Art Director

Overview

Bad Dog Games is seeking a highly experienced Art Director with deep industry knowledge and proven leadership in the casino slot-gaming space. We are a small, profitable gaming company experiencing rapid growth. We are evolving our talented art teams into a scalable gaming content organization. The ideal candidate combines a proven track record of leading collaborators with a distinct artistic vision that everyone in the organization can share.

Strong hands-on skills in Unity, illustration, motion, VFX, and 3D are required; familiarity with industry-leading creative processes is preferred.

The Art Director role will lead and mentor multiple art teams across several simultaneous game projects, ensuring a world-class visual standard that aligns with our product vision and brand. Play a key role in developing industry-leading games, growing the Brand, and building a great organization that makes it all possible.

• Own and drive the artistic vision and visual direction for all titles, ensuring a world-class, industry-leading visual standard.
• Collaborate with the Chief Product Officer and executive leadership, and contribute to the overall gaming strategy.
• Guide teams in concepting, storyboarding, and developing high-impact game characters, symbols, environments, UI/UX, and animations.
• Ensure consistent art style, brand cohesion, and quality across all projects.
• Lead, mentor, and coordinate a multi-disciplinary art department including illustrators, 2D/3D artists, animators, VFX artists, technical artists, and UI designers.
• Manage internal and external production pipelines; assign tasks, review work, and ensure deadlines and milestones are met.
• Build and scale art teams, including sourcing talent from personal industry networks.
• Oversee and contribute to art integration in Unity, including shaders, animation setup, VFX, and optimization for performance.
• Collaborate with engineering and product teams to ensure art direction complements gameplay, math models, and technical constraints.
• Ensure asset pipelines are efficient, documented, and aligned with production needs.
• Leverage existing industry contacts to source top-tier contract artists, studios, and audio/visual vendors.
• Evaluate and guide outsourcing partners, ensuring quality, style match, and reliable delivery.
• Conduct regular reviews to ensure quality, polish, and ITL-friendly presentation standards.
• Ensure assets meet all technical and compliance requirements for ITL markets.
• Drive refinement of visual effects, animations, and UI/UX to AAA-quality slot-gaming standards.

• 5+ years of experience as an Art Director or Lead Artist in the slot-gaming or casino gaming industry (required).
• Strong hands-on experience with Unity, including art integration, shaders, and performance optimization.
• Expert-level 2D illustration, character/prop design, and motion graphics skills.
• Strong 3D knowledge with modeling, texturing, lighting, and VFX (Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Substance, etc.).
• Direct experience guiding multiple art teams across multiple simultaneous titles.
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrable portfolio of high-quality game art, preferably slot machines, casual mobile, or casino-style games.
• A strong network of artists, contractors, and outsourcing studios within the casino gaming world.
• Experience with real-money slot games or Class II/III development.
• Familiarity with Cabinet/UI Integrations, symbol ladders, reel strips, and slot-specific UX.
• Work remotely with quarterly office visits.

Bad Dog Games is a rapidly growing player in regulated gaming, offering an entrepreneurial environment and competitive benefits, such as company-paid employee health insurance.

Salary Range: $150,000 - $250,000. All final offers will consider the applicant's skills, experience, education, and work location.