Tencent is located in the Boston area and offer competitive salaries, superb benefits and profit sharing. If you’re an inspired, driven individual who is ready to take game development to the next level, then Tencent Boston is your new home.

We’re looking for a Lead Character Artist for Tencent Boston who will play a key role in shaping the design and appearance of our upcoming AAA MMO title for the global market. This position will report to the Art Director and be responsible for the style, structure and appearance of game character and creatures. The ideal candidate will have comprehensive experience in all the critical aspects of character development including modeling and texturing, and will be able to exercise those skills while managing the productivity and schedule of internal and external team members.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with the Art Director and other key team members to guide the vision and artistic direction of the characters in the game
• Help in the definition of game requirements and find artistic solutions to them
• Manage  and direct the character art team
• Assist in the design, implementation and maintenance of the art pipeline for both internal and external teams
• Assist in the development of art style and reference guides for use by internal and external teams
• Create high quality normal-mapped in-game  art assets as needed
• Manage, mentor and build a team of internal and external artists to produce outstanding work
• Help to develop and maintain a healthy and positive company culture in a new startup
• Provide clear and consistent feedback and critiques

EXPERIENCE

• At least four years experience in the game industry
• At least one published game credit
• Experience with Z-brush based pipeline for creating high quality normal maps
• Worked on at least one quality game from beginning to end
• Management experience leading a team of artists
• Familiarity with industry standard tools and software

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Work experience on MMO’s
• Working with outsourced art teams and hands-on art integration from multiple sources
• Polished presentation skills to explain and rationalize artistic decisions to management 
• Experience in art team recruiting is an asset
• Lead Artist experience
• An avid gamer

REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong understanding of shape, mass and form as it relates to anatomies of both human and other-worldly creatures
• Understanding of meshing for lower poly models and how this relates to animation needs
• Must dream about perfect edge loops and cringe at the site of under-utilized polys
• Expert skills in using 3DS Max, Z-brush and leading graphics packages
• Comprehensive skills in game development 3D modeling and texturing

PORTFOLIOS

Portfolios available through a website or DVD will be welcomed. Please include the URL for your website on your resume. Resumes and electronic portfolios may be submitted to: jobs@tencentboston.com. DVDs and resume should be sent to Tencent Boston, 2 Clock Tower Place Suite 630, Maynard MA 01754.