Senior Artist

Permanent full-time on-site in Wellington, NZ – 40 hours per week –  $85k-$100k+ based on experience. Due to Covid-19 travel and immigration restrictions, applicants must have the right to work in New Zealand.

Please note that our studio will be closed from 22nd December 2022 to 4th January 2023, so should you have any questions, please contact us before or after these dates.

We’re Dinosaur Polo Club, an award-winning video game design studio full of lovely people making games in Wellington, New Zealand.

After developing and supporting two successful titles in our Miniverse franchise, we’re branching out and are working on a brand-new 3D management simulation game with a fresh and exciting IP. We’re looking for an enthusiastic and experienced artist to join the team and hopefully that person is you!

A sample image to give a sense of the art style and perspective can be found on our website under the careers page.

Ideally, you’ll have several years of professional industry experience, a solid understanding of art pipelines, and be able to demonstrate your experience working with a stylized, hand painted 3D look. We’re exploring building our new project in Unreal Engine 5, so any experience in Unreal would be a great bonus but isn’t required! Proactive and collaborative, you’ll also be working closely with our other departments, including working with our programming team on implementation guides, and our game design team to ideate exciting new concepts.

What you'll do in this role:

• Help support and continue the development of the full game art pipeline;
• Create high quality game assets including environment, character models, and materials either from a concept art or a brief;
• Ensure that developed and implemented art assets respect the creative vision of the game and meet the studio’s quality standards;
• Work independently on medium and large-scale tasks, assessing the wider implications of decisions and can offer appropriate feedback to others;
• Nurture a close working relationship with your department and wider team, liaising with the other departments to ensure robust understanding of implementation requirements;
• Regularly take part in project reviews, comfortable with both offering and responding to creative feedback from your peers;
• Provide guidance, mentorship and direction for other artists within the company;
• Share knowledge, recommend best practices, and support the development of other team members;
• Be a part of both a department and studio team, actively seeking to develop a method of communicating that is understandable to those outside of your immediate department.

The skills and experience we're looking for:

• At least 3-5+ years professional industry experience as an artist;
• Strong background in traditional 3D pipeline tools such as Maya, Adobe Suite, Zbrush or equivalent software;
• A demonstrated ability to create stylized 3D models and stylized textures;
• Fantastic organisational skills, with a high level of initiative;
• Ability to support and mentor other members of the team;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, fluent in English;
• An interest in developing unique and high-quality video games;
• Dedication to working in a professional, inclusive, and supportive environment.

Your skills may also include:

• Experience working within Unreal Engine;
• Experience in creating 2D assets;
• Familiarity with Substance Painter;
• Familiarity with Substance Designer;
• Solid understanding of architecture, composition, and scale;
• Concept art experience.

About us:

At Dinosaur Polo Club we value a healthy work-life balance where our dinos can flourish both inside and outside of the studio. We have a creative team, opportunities for growth, and a wholesome, supportive studio environment.

We value diversity and believe that our team should be as varied and wonderful as the people who play our games all around the world. Differences such as disabilities, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity and any other aspects of various cultures and identities are important perspectives that contribute to an inclusive, well-rounded, and engaging work environment. We know we’re creating better games when we have varied perspectives and experiences contributing to them. Women, LGBTQ+ community, Māori and Pasifika  – we want to hear from you! 

If there is anything we can do to allow for easier participation in the interview process, please let us know at careers@dinopoloclub.com

What we can offer:

• A lovely bunch of skilled and enthusiastic team members for you to work alongside.
• Generous training allowance for things such as conferences, workshops, online courses and self-directed learning.
• Dedicated training days.
• Support structure including regular one-on-ones.
• Team activities such as a quarterly pot-luck lunch, movie nights at the studio, holiday functions and more.
• Healthy snacks, yummy treats, and close proximity to some of Wellington’s best eateries! Plus an impressive array of locally made tea and coffee.
• Quarterly personal discretionary wellness allowance.
• Quarterly bonuses based on studio performance.
• Monthly workplace massages.
• Friday afternoon socials.
• Flexible workplace with core hours and optional work-from-home days.

Keen to apply?

If this strikes you as an exciting opportunity, click the button below and submit a CV and a cover letter outlining why you feel this would be the role for you. This position is permanent, full-time and on-site in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand so you’ll either be living in Wellington or be willing to relocate. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Closing date: January 15, 2023