Team Lead - Lead Level Artist

Join us on our journey and help us collaborate on our new game: Blood Message. The game is set in historical China and features a realistic visual style as well as authentic traditional combat gameplay. The project uses Unreal Engine 5 and is co-developed in collaboration between Montreal and our main studio in China.

We are a video game co-development studio based in Montreal, Canada, committed to delivering exceptional gaming experiences. Our team collaborates closely with our headquarters in China. The position is currently open to candidates in Montreal or Toronto.

As Team Lead - Lead Level Artist, you will be at the forefront of creating, designing, and integrating visually captivating and gameplay-driven levels. Working closely with the Art Director in China, Level Designers, and cross-disciplinary teams, you will ensure that the artistic vision aligns with cultural authenticity, technical efficiency, and gameplay excellence, creating immersive environments that will resonate with players worldwide.

What your daily life will look like:*

• Artistic Leadership and Vision: Collaborate with the Art Director to define and implement the artistic direction of the game levels, ensuring environments are visually striking, authentic to historical China, and balanced with gameplay features. Bring innovative ideas to shape the visual style, drawing inspiration from Chinese history, culture, film, and art.
• Research and Cultural Authenticity: Conduct research on the geography, architecture, and cultural elements of historical China to ensure the authenticity of the level design. Use reference documents to guide artistic license while maintaining a unique and engaging aesthetic.
• Environment Production: Oversee the end-to-end production pipeline for level art, from concept to final polish, creating lush, pixel-perfect levels that support the realistic visual style of Blood Message. Ensure environments foster exploration, storytelling, and gameplay mechanics such as traditional combat and traversal.
• Narrative-Driven Design: Work with Level Designers, narrative teams, and the Art Director to create environments that support storytelling through detail, lighting, composition, and contrast, conveying emotional and narrative depth aligned with the game's themes.
• Team Leadership and Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of level artists, providing constructive feedback, setting quality standards, and fostering a collaborative environment. Act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team to maintain visual consistency, manage workload, and meet project milestones.
• Pipeline and Workflow Development: Establish and maintain efficient artistic pipelines and workflows for level creation, optimization, and integration in Unreal Engine 5. Bring innovative ideas to streamline processes and ensure seamless collaboration with the China-based studio.
• Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Foster communication and collaboration with Level Designers, programmers, animators, and QA teams to balance gameplay mechanics and visual storytelling. Participate in production meetings to identify, prioritize, and distribute tasks, ensuring a smooth workflow and alignment with the Chinese studio's objectives.
• Problem-Solving and Innovation: Resolve artistic and technical issues, designing creative solutions to maintain visual excellence and performance. Stay up to date with industry trends and Unreal Engine 5 advancements to integrate cutting-edge techniques.
• Communication with China: Provide regular progress updates, share information, and maintain effective communication with the China-based headquarters to ensure alignment on artistic vision, cultural authenticity, and project milestones.

The skills we are looking for:

Experience: 5 years or more in a Lead Level Artist role or a similar role, with proven experience in delivering high-quality levels for AAA titles. More than 8 years of experience in game development is a plus, particularly in specific historical or cultural contexts.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in 3D software (e.g., Blender, 3ds Max, ZBrush) and game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine 5, Unity).
• Strong understanding of level design principles, environmental storytelling, gameplay flow optimization, and asset optimization for performance across all platforms.
• Expertise in lighting, color theory, composition, and technical constraints such as memory and frame rate optimization.

Artistic Skills: Exceptional artistic vision with a keen eye for composition, lighting, and color theory, capable of creating immersive and culturally authentic environments that balance realism and gameplay needs.

Leadership: Proven leadership and mentorship skills, with experience in managing teams, providing feedback, and meeting schedules. Ability to act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team, fostering collaboration and communication.

Collaboration: Strong verbal and written communication skills to work effectively with cross-disciplinary teams and the China-based studio, ensuring alignment on artistic and technical goals.

Portfolio: A strong portfolio presenting diverse and high-quality level designs and environments, demonstrating expertise in realistic visual styles, environmental storytelling, and composition.

Cultural Knowledge: Knowledge of Chinese history, culture, or aesthetics is highly desired to ensure the authenticity of Blood Message.

Understanding of Agile Methodology: Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, to manage iterative artistic pipelines and facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Participate in sprint planning, daily meetings, and retrospectives to align level art with project milestones.

Why we might be the perfect company for you:

We offer the unique experience of being part of creating a new international gaming team in the heart of Montreal, benefiting from the richness of its members' diversity and cultural exchange with our partners in Hangzhou.

We also offer:

• Insurance coverage and telemedicine from day 1;
• Transportation and meal allowance;
• Referral bonus;
• RRSP with employer contribution.

Join us to work on an ambitious project, in a unique start-up atmosphere and with a team of passionate and energetic game developers!

Lead Level Artist

Join us on our journey and help us collaborate towards our newly announced game: Blood Message. It is set in historical China and features a realistic visual style and authentic traditional combat gameplay. The project is making use of Unreal Engine 5 and is co-developed in collaboration between Montreal and our main studio in China.

We are a co-development video game studio based in Montreal, Canada, committed to delivering exceptional gaming experiences. Our team collaborates closely with our headquarters in China. The position is currently open to candidates in Montreal or Toronto.

Join our co-development video game studio in Montreal, Canada, as we collaborate with our headquarters in China to create Blood Message, an ambitious title set in historical China, featuring a realistic visual style and authentic traditional combat gameplay. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, this project aims to deliver exceptional gaming experiences for players, particularly in China. As the Lead Level Artist, you will spearhead the creation, design, and integration of visually captivating and gameplay-driven levels. Working closely with the Art Director in China, Level Designers, and cross-disciplinary teams, you will ensure the artistic vision aligns with cultural authenticity, technical efficiency, and gameplay excellence, crafting immersive environments that resonate with players worldwide.

What will you be doing:

• Artistic Leadership and Vision: Collaborate with the Art Director to define and implement the artistic direction for game levels, ensuring environments are visually striking, authentic to historical China, and balanced with gameplay functionality. Contribute innovative ideas to shape the visual style, drawing inspiration from Chinese history, culture, movies, and art.
• Research and Cultural Authenticity: Conduct research into historical Chinese geography, architecture, and cultural elements to ensure authenticity in level design. Use reference materials to guide artistic license while maintaining a unique and engaging aesthetic.
• Environment Production: Oversee the end-to-end production pipeline for level art, from concept to final polish, creating lush, pixel-perfect levels that support _Blood Message_’s realistic visual style. Ensure environments enhance exploration, storytelling, and gameplay mechanics like traditional combat and traversal.
• Narrative-Driven Design: Work with Level Designers, narrative teams, and the Art Director to craft environments that support storytelling through details, lighting, composition, and contrast, conveying emotional and narrative depth aligned with the game’s themes.
• Team Leadership and Mentorship: Lead and mentor a team of level artists, providing constructive feedback, setting quality standards, and fostering a collaborative environment. Act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team to maintain visual consistency, manage workloads, and meet project milestones.
• Pipeline and Workflow Development: Establish and maintain efficient art pipelines and workflows for level creation, optimization, and integration into Unreal Engine 5. Contribute innovative ideas to streamline processes and ensure seamless collaboration with the China-based studio.
• Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Foster communication and collaboration with Level Designers, programmers, animators, and QA teams to balance gameplay mechanics and visual storytelling. Participate in production meetings to identify, prioritize, and distribute tasks, ensuring a smooth workflow and alignment with the China studio’s objectives.
• Problem-Solving and Innovation: Troubleshoot artistic and technical challenges, devising creative solutions to maintain visual excellence and performance. Stay updated on industry trends and Unreal Engine 5 advancements to incorporate cutting-edge techniques.
• Communication with China Studio: Provide regular progress updates, share information, and maintain effective communication with the China-based headquarters to ensure alignment on artistic vision, cultural authenticity, and project milestones.

The skills we’re looking for:

Experience: 5+ years in a Lead Level Artist or similar role, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality levels for AAA titles. 8+ years of overall game development experience is a plus, especially with historical or culturally specific settings.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency in 3D software (e.g., Blender, 3ds Max, ZBrush) and game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine 5, Unity).
• Strong understanding of level design principles, environmental storytelling, gameplay flow optimization, and asset optimization for performance across platforms.
• Expertise in lighting, color theory, composition, and technical constraints like memory and frame rate optimization.

Artistic Skills: Exceptional artistic vision with a keen eye for composition, lighting, and color theory, capable of creating immersive, culturally authentic environments that balance realism and gameplay needs.

Leadership: Proven leadership and mentorship skills, with experience managing teams, providing feedback, and maintaining schedules. Ability to act as a bridge between the Art Director and the team, fostering collaboration and communication.

Collaboration: Strong verbal and written communication skills to work effectively with cross-disciplinary teams and the China-based studio, ensuring alignment on artistic and technical goals.

Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing diverse, high-quality level designs and environment art, demonstrating expertise in realistic visual styles, environmental storytelling, and composition.

Cultural Knowledge: Familiarity with Chinese history, culture, or aesthetics is highly desirable to ensure authenticity in Blood Message.

Agile Understanding: Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, to manage iterative art pipelines and facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives to align level art with project milestones.

Why could we be the perfect place for you:

We are Highdive, a NetEase Games ThunderFire development studio from Montreal. Bond by no borders, we create games that let us dive into pure emotions, together.

We also offer:

• The flexibility of working remotely or the comfort of our office,

• Insurance coverage and telemedicine from day one,

• Transportation and meal allowance,

• Referral bonus,

• RRSP with employer contribution.

Join us to work on an ambitious project, in a unique ‘Start-Up Atmosphere’ and with a team of passionate and energetic game developers!

Job Range: 140,000 - 190,000

Justification des exigences linguistiques

NetEase s'engage à favoriser un environnement de travail francophone pour ses employés au Québec. Tous les efforts ont été faits pour éviter d'exiger une langue autre que le français pour ce poste.

Cependant, la maîtrise de l'anglais est essentielle pour ce poste, car l'employé devra communiquer régulièrement avec des collègues et des parties prenantes situés à l'extérieur du Québec, où l'anglais est la principale langue de communication entre les bureaux.

Language Requirement Justification

NetEase is committed to supporting a French-speaking workenvironment for its employees in Quebec. Every effort has been made to avoidrequiring a language other than French for this position.

However, proficiency in English is essential for thisrole because the employee will be required to communicate regularly with colleagues and stakeholders located outside Quebec, where English is theprimary language of communication between offices.