Art Director

Impact Theory is looking for an experienced Art Director to support a temporary, full-time visual improvement effort on Kyzen. This onsite role in Los Angeles (West Hollywood) is senior and hands-on, with a clear focus on strengthening cohesion across art direction, procedural placement, lighting, and maintainable handoff documentation.

The engagement runs for approximately 4 to 6 months, starting in October or November 2026. The position is designed for someone who can combine strong visual taste with the ability to collaborate closely with both technical and production partners.

Role overview

• Lead a focused effort to improve visual cohesion and raise the art quality for Kyzen.
• Establish unified art direction, including color script, lighting language, material and silhouette rules, scale conventions, and readability standards.
• Partner with game design, engineering, and technical art to help produce a high-impact final result for the target audience.
• Support lighting and atmosphere improvements with a lighting artist and relevant technical partners.

Responsibilities

• Perform a full visual audit of Kyzen’s existing assets and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Define a consistent art direction for the title, including rules for materials, silhouettes, scale, lighting language, and readability.
• Document the direction in an art bible that is usable by internal teams and any outsourced partners.
• Create reference and hero assets that communicate the intended look and feel.
• Evaluate the game’s lighting and collaborate with a lighting artist to elevate overall visual quality.
• Work with the game designer to ensure the final product delivers strong impact for the intended audience.
• Collaborate with the procedural engineer to upgrade procedural asset placement rules across all biomes, including:
  • Density, clustering, scale and rotation variance
  • Slope and altitude rules
  • Biome transition zones
• Improve per-biome art direction, including palette, flora and rock language, landmark strategy, and silhouette hierarchy.
• Deliver written standards, rulesets, and technical approaches so the work remains maintainable after the term ends.
• Run a structured handoff session covering completed work, open items, and recommended next steps.

Requirements

• 7+ years of professional game art experience, including 3+ years as an Art Director, Environment Artist, or Character Artist.
• At least one shipped title with meaningful responsibility for visual direction.
• Current experience with Unreal Engine 5 sufficient to communicate effectively with technical leads about performant asset design.
• Familiarity with voxel art and/or procedurally generated terrain.
• Strong world-building fundamentals and the ability to create paintovers, reference, and prototype assets personally.
• Ability to communicate visual direction clearly to engineers and translate art goals into technical requirements.
• Portfolio demonstrating cohesive stylized worlds.
• Availability to commit to the full temporary assignment duration.
• Onsite schedule: Monday through Friday at the West Hollywood location.
• Ability to work for prolonged periods at a desk reviewing content on screens with strong concentration and attention to detail.
• Effective written and verbal communication for feedback, concept discussions, and production coordination.

Technologies

• Unreal Engine 5

Key deliverables

• Visual audit and prioritized remediation plan
• Kyzen art bible / style guide
• Reference hero assets
• Per-biome art definitions and procedural placement rulesets
• Final handoff package and session

Compensation & benefits

• Salaried: $240,000 - $300,000 USD per year (temporary term basis)
• Salaried at $20,000 - $25,000 USD per month for the duration of the assignment
• Competitive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• Life insurance and 401(k) retirement plan
• Flexible PTO policy

Note on AI: The role expects working with AI in whatever ways help advance the project and delight players.