Principal 3D Environment Artist - VALORANT

3D Environment Artists at Riot channel their knowledge of concepting, modeling, and texturing to tell stories through visually compelling environments. Working within both design and technical constraints you will build optimized environments that enhance the purpose and mood of the game. Your craft expertise and eye for structure, form, shape language, and design will help build fantastic new worlds for our players to explore. As a senior member of the team, you will help mentor your fellow team members to raise the quality bar and game developer knowledge.

As Principal 3D Environment Artist for Maps on VALORANT, you will create environment assets for Maps, ensuring its cohesion in style and quality supports VALORANT art direction. You will partner closely with your cross-discipline team to deliver iconic, creative, and resonant experiences that amplify competitive gameplay for players. You will report into the Maps Art Director.

Responsibilities

• Establish the craft quality bar for the look and feel of 3D environment assets ranging from hard surface structures to organic foliage, including the technical requirements needed to realize the VALORANT IP in new and creative ways
• Use your understanding of optimized systems for asset creation, taking into account efficiency, speed, and cross dependencies, to ensure the art is within technical performance targets
• Interpret and push concept designs to the next level while taking into account technical and design constraints such as draw calls, poly counts, texture memory limits, and gameplay constraints 
• Navigate creatively ambiguous  problem spaces through artistic discovery & rapid iterations
• Influence different development techniques that allow for rapid content creation at scale
• Identify opportunities for improvement in the production pipeline and collaborate with tech art to develop tools and workflows
• Active member of craft community that often leads meetings and initiatives to level up members of craft
• Mentor and develop artists at all levels through workshops and detailed documentation

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant industry experience
• Has shipped levels on at least 1 First Person Shooter
• Experience working with modern game engines such as Unreal, Unity, or proprietary technologies
• Expert experience in modeling, sculpting, texturing and materials
• Expert experience in programs such as Maya, Zbrush, Substance Painter/designer, and Photoshop

Desired Qualifications

• Development experience creating materials and PBR assets within modern game engines (Unreal, Unity, etc)
• Deep knowledge of the VALORANT IP

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 has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to 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.