The Initiative is an early stage first-party game development studio located in Santa Monica and part of Microsoft’s XBOX Game Studios. Our studio is about craft, creating story, innovating, and looking ahead to the next big thing.
At the Initiative, we are looking for collaborative problem-solvers who want to dive into something new and create groundbreaking experiences for our players. We are passionate about craft, creating stories, and building the next big thing in gaming and we are looking for an exceptional writer to come join our growing team.
The Initiative has an immediate opening for a Environment Artist to create high caliber environment artwork to help us define the artistic vision and development pipeline. In this Environment Art role, you will display artistic and technical expertise and ability to create immersive, living, and fully realized environments.
We're looking for a passionate, talented, and driven artist, who enjoys collaborating with others to create rich and immersive game experiences. You are versatile, have strong development and production-sense, and the expertise to inspire and mentor others to do their best work.
Responsibilities
As an experienced Environment Artist, you will work directly with the Art and Design team and other key stakeholders across disciplines to deliver the following:
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with the art, design, and engineering teams to understand and deliver against environment art pipeline and workflows
- Partner closely with key stakeholders and Art leads to establish artistic style and ensure unified look and consistent quality across game environments
- Visualize environments from concept to completion with minimal direction
- Demonstrate a willingness to give and receive feedback, collaborate with others to share techniques, ideas, and contribute to a positive working environment
Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's Degree or equivalent practical experience
- 3+ years of experience in designing, developing, and shipping major game systems in a published game or entertainment with market or critical acclaim
- Expertise in Maya, ZBrush, and Photoshop or equivalent software
- Strong 2D and 3D artistic skills, with demonstrated excellence in compositional and visual storytelling skills
- Demonstrated exceptional visual and technical understanding in sculpting, 3D modeling, texturing, materials creation, baking maps, lighting, and post effects
Preferred Qualifications
- Technical knowledge to ensure assets are optimal for performance and memory
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
- In-depth knowledge of material/shader development and experience with Substance Designer/Painter or equivalent software
- Technical experience, profiling, scripting knowledge
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
