Art Lead

At Gardens Interactive were building games centered on connection collective adventure and emergent stories. We believe the spirit with which we build games is reflected in the experiences our players have. The way we collaborate solve problems navigate uncertainty and care for one another ultimately shapes the worlds we create.

Were a fully remote studio that embraces thoughtful collaboration continuous learning and the courage to explore new ideas. If youre energized by solving complex problems excited by ambiguity and inspired by building worlds where friendships flourish wed love to meet you.

As the Art Lead you will...

Lead and manage the art organization across our current and future games. This role owns the health performance and effectiveness of the art team across all sub-disciplines including Environment Concept Character VFX and Animation managing discipline leads while directly managing individual contributors where a dedicated lead isnt yet in place.

This isnt solely a people-management role. Were looking for an art leader who stays genuinely curious about the game itself: someone who regularly engages with work in progress spots opportunities and problems before they compound and helps move both the game and the art organization forward.

Youll work closely with the Art Director Production Design Engineering and studio leadership advocating for your team while staying accountable to feedback product needs and cross-disciplinary concerns.

A Day in the Life

• Check in with discipline leads on team health priorities and blockers.

• Dive into in-progress art to catch quality readability or consistency issues early.

• Partner with the Art Director to keep art priorities aligned with the games vision.

• Work through cross-disciplinary blockers with Design Engineering and Production.

• Coach discipline leads through feedback and career development.

What Youll Do

Art Organization Leadership

• Lead and manage the art team across all sub-disciplines: Environment Concept Character VFX Animation and other art functions.

• Manage mentor and develop discipline leads holding them accountable for the health and delivery of their teams; directly manage individual contributors where a dedicated lead isnt yet in place.

• Build a culture of ownership clarity constructive feedback and continuous improvement across the art team.

Product Leadership

• Develop a deep understanding of the games player experience design goals visual direction and production priorities.

• Stay closely engaged with work in progress across art disciplines identifying opportunities to improve quality readability and consistency.

• Partner with the Art Director to translate creative vision into achievable goals stepping into hands-on problem-solving when needed to unblock the team or challenge assumptions.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

• Partner closely with Design Engineering Production and Creative Leadership throughout development.

• Advocate for the art team while staying accountable to the needs priorities and delivery goals of the overall game.

• Help drive decisions when ambiguity disagreement or cross-disciplinary dependencies are blocking progress.

Art Production & Execution

• Define and manage the art portion of the product scope with Production and studio leadership.

• Improve art pipelines workflows and tools resolving inefficiencies that impact quality or execution.

• Oversee external art partners ensuring outsourced work meets the projects creative technical and quality bar.

Management & Team Growth

• Develop leads and individual contributors through clear expectations actionable feedback and ongoing performance management.

• Partner with studio leadership on recruiting organizational structure and evolving staffing needs across the art organization.

What Youll Bring

• 6 years of professional experience in game-development art production with multiple shipped titles as an artist or art leader.

• Significant experience managing mentoring and developing artists and art leads including building and evolving teams and holding people accountable for performance and delivery.

• Strong understanding of the responsibilities workflows and dependencies across multiple game-art disciplines.

• Strong product judgment and a demonstrated ability to stay closely engaged with a game throughout development evaluating art in the context of gameplay player experience and production scope.

• Strong cross-functional judgment and communication skills with the ability to synthesize feedback navigate disagreement and balance the needs of the art organization with those of the overall product.

• Experience working with external outsourcing vendors.

• Comfortable operating both strategically and tactically taking ownership without requiring constant direction.

Nice to Have

• Previous experience leading a multi-disciplinary art organization.

• Strong understanding of Environment Character Concept VFX Animation Technical Art and related art-development pipelines.

• Experience with stylized art and multiplayer games.

The Team

• Reports to the Chief of Staff

How We Work

We believe great games are built by people who care deeply about both the work and one another. Our values guide how we collaborate solve problems make decisions and grow together. Theyre practical behaviors not slogans and theyre part of how we hire give feedback and support one another every day.

Were looking for teammates who are excited to:

• Stay curious and ask thoughtful questions.

• Adapt when plans change.

• Exercise good judgment rather than chase perfection.

• Care for the success of the whole team not just their own work.

• Pursue ambitious goals while remaining humble enough to keep learning.

• Commit fully to the shared adventure were building together.

Youll Thrive Here If...

• You enjoy asking questions before jumping to conclusions.

• You adapt comfortably when priorities evolve.

• You balance ambition with pragmatism.

• You communicate thoughtfully and seek feedback.

• You care about helping your teammates succeed.

• You embrace uncertainty as part of creating something new.

Please Note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States or Canada. Gardens cannot assist with work authorizations or work visas. Applicants must also be willing to work within North American time zones (ESTPST).

Our Interview Process

(all interviews are 1 hour video calls on Google Meet unless otherwise noted)

• Step 1: People Operations Introduction

• Step 2: Hiring Manager Interview

• Step 3: Panel Interview (3 - 1 Hour Sections)

• Step 4: Gardeners Debrief

• Step 5: Offer

Life at Gardens

Gardens is a fully distributed game studio founded by creators behind titles including Journey What Remains of Edith Finch Blaseball Dustforce Ashen Guild Wars 2 Baldurs Gate 3 and more.

Were developing our flagship project: a multiplayer fantasy adventure inspired by the friendships discoveries and unforgettable stories that emerge when people explore together.

We believe the best ideas come from teams with diverse experiences perspectives backgrounds and ways of thinking. Every Gardener helps shape not only what we build but how we build it.

Each of us arrives by a different path bringing unique experiences perspectives and ways of seeing the world. That range is part of what makes our games and our studio better than any one of us could build alone.

Gardens Offers:

• Competitive salaries and pay transparency

• Stock options

• Medical dental and vision coverage (100% for individuals 90% for dependents)

• Life insurance short-term and long-term disability and additional benefits

• 401(k) contributions (U.S.) / RRSP DPSP contributions (Canada)

• Paid parental leave

• A fully distributed remote studio across North American time zones

Benefits and perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Gardens and the country in which you work.

Physical Requirements: This is a primarily sedentary remote role requiring the ability to remain stationary and perform computer-based work for extended periods including sustained use of monitors keyboards mice and game controllers for a minimum of six hours per day. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role. Gardens is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Encouragement: We believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. If youre excited about this role but dont meet every single qualification we encourage you to apply anyway.

Research consistently shows that talented people particularly women people of color and those from historically underrepresented communities are less likely to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. We care far more about curiosity growth and a willingness to learn than checking every box.

Scam Note: Unfortunately scammers have impersonated Gardens Interactive by offering fake employment opportunities intended to collect financial information.

Official communication from our team will always come from a @ email address. We will never ask for financial information during the hiring process.

If youre ever unsure whether a message is legitimate please contact us directly through LinkedIn or