Associate Art Director, Concept Art (Cosmetics) - League of Legends

As part of the Cosmetics team on League of Legends, you’ll manage an amazing group of concept artists that create concepts that bring skinlines and other cosmetic content to millions of players. You will use your artistic eye and experience with dynamic lighting, form, and color to tell concise and evocative stories through character design. By closely collaborating with a team of dedicated concept artists, illustrators, writers, animators and game developers, you will help define each character’s unique place in our universe.

As an Associate Art Director, you will report to the Associate Art Director for the entire Cosmetics Team and through your craft expertise, leadership and eye, will help deliver deep engagement and rich fantasy worlds to our players. You’ll continue to build and support internal and external teams while giving them the guidance and context they need in order to deliver amazing concept art and illustrations that set industry standards, while enriching the storytelling of the product they support. Through a mix of craft training and hands-on leadership, you will level up the team’s craft, bring understanding across the discipline, and bring creative solutions that ultimately create excellent experiences for our players. You’ll set clear goals for your team, and make sure the process of delivering those goals is as smooth as possible for both your team and their partners.

Responsibilities:

Partner with Art Leadership and production to craft clear, product-aligned creative strategies and execution plans including resource allocation
Partner with Art Leadership to set a clear vision for new and existing thematic spaces, provide consistent feedback, and build trust with your team
Oversee the quality of the team’s work and set the bar for excellence, including hands-on craft contribution
Collaborate with Character Art, Technical Art, Animation, VFX, Narrative, Audio, Design and Engineering teams to deliver new skins and thematic updates
Establish process milestones and workflow guidelines while promoting healthy collaboration between League Cosmetics and other teams within League Studios
Lead and improve team rituals to support high quality craft and individual growth.
Manage career growth, set craft expectations, and manage performance for the concept team
Work with recruiting to find great talent for the team and ensure good onboarding and offboarding
Foster a healthy culture and enforce effective performance management and growth of management org
Consistently embody and uphold our company values in every aspect of your work and interactions

Required Qualifications:

4+ years of experience in directly managing teams and individuals to achieve excellence
8+ years of experience as a Concept Artist in the games industry
Demonstrated ability to create high quality concept art
Experienced communicator capable of giving timely direction through clear, concise feedback
Experience working with vendors, giving direction and delivering clear feedback

Desired Qualifications:

Familiarity with the League of Legends IP and skins universes

When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality character concept art - including stylized artwork.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.