Art Director (Environment) | Directeur(-trice) artistique (Environnement) -VOLTA

About the Position

Art Director (Environment) | Directeur(-trice) artistique (Environnement) -VOLTA

VOLTA is a premier creative studio dedicated to creating high-end 2D and 3D visuals for many of the world’s leading entertainment companies, spanning the realms of video games, movies, and toys. Since 2006, our veteran team has delivered hundreds of successful projects for our client’s most prestigious IPs. From concept art all the way to 3D modeling, our services are designed to meet the unique needs of each project, ensuring the highest level of quality and creativity. We constantly strive to ensure that the core values that made our studio so successful remain intact. Passion, creativity, and a relentless quest for excellence are still the driving force behind everything we undertake.

At Volta, part of Keywords Studios, we collaborate with leading game developers to bring high-quality art to AAA titles. We combine the reach of a global network with the precision of a tight, production-driven studio-where ideas are only as strong as their execution.

We’re looking for an Art Director (Environment) who can set a vision, align teams, and deliver consistently at a high standard-someone who understands that great direction lives in both the concept and the craft.

Responsibilities

• Define and uphold the visual direction for environment and prop production across projects, IPs, and styles
• Own and elevate the full environment pipeline-from props creation to full level development; including hero props, set dressing, environment kits, foliage, terrain, lighting, and simulation.
• Guide the creation of environments, props, modular kits, trim sheets, and supporting visual elements with strong attention to function, scale, and storytelling
• Ensure consistency across large-scale worlds, maintaining alignment between artistic vision, gameplay needs, and technical constraints
• Work directly in Unreal Engine 5 to review, troubleshoot, and guide environment production in-engine
• Set clear quality benchmarks and review/approve work before client delivery
• Lead, mentor, and develop environment and prop artists across varying experience levels
• Provide clear, actionable feedback through reviews, paintovers, and in-engine guidance
• Maintain visual consistency across distributed or large production teams
• Collaborate closely with production, design, engineering, and external clients to align on scope, priorities, and delivery expectations
• Support project planning, scoping, and milestone definition with a clear understanding of risk and dependencies
• Balance creative ambition with production realities-timelines, budgets, memory constraints, and engine performance
• Proactively identify production risks and propose practical, solution-oriented paths forward
• Help define and refine pipelines, workflows, and documentation to improve scalability and efficiency
• Partner with pipeline and tech teams to support engine integration and workflow optimization
• Contribute to hiring, team structure, performance evaluation, and artist development
• Support client-facing discussions, creative alignment, and escalation handling when needed
• Contribute to early project strategy, bidding, and feasibility assessments where required
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• 10+ years in the video game industry with multiple shipped AAA titles in a Lead or Art Director role focused on environments and props
• Proven ability to own the full environment production pipeline from concept/blockout through to final in-engine polish
• Deep expertise in environment workflows including modular construction, trim sheets, asset optimization, memory budgets, and engine integration
• Strong hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, including in-engine review, troubleshooting, and production guidance
• Demonstrated experience mentoring environment and prop artists with clear, actionable feedback
• Strong client-facing experience working directly with external Art Directors and cross-functional teams
• Solid understanding of production realities-scoping, risk management, and pipeline dependencies
• Ability to operate effectively in a French-speaking work environment
• Strong communication skills-clear, direct, and able to align teams without friction
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in fast-paced production environments
• A grounded, solution-oriented mindset with strong critical thinking and decision-making ability
• Passion for games, with the ability to balance creative ambition with production constraints
• Proficiency with industry-standard tools and workflows, including:

Nice to Have

• None specified

We Offer

• Competitive salary range: $80,000-120,000 CAD
• Work on high-profile AAA projects across a variety of styles and partners
• A collaborative, no-ego environment focused on quality, clarity, and follow-through
• The opportunity to shape teams, pipelines, and creative direction in a growing studio
• Backed by Keywords Studios-global scale, with local autonomy
• A supportive culture that values both craft and people

Benefits

• Paid vacations: 3 floating weeks + 1 week during holidays (studio closure) + 8 statutory holidays
• Full insurance coverage
• 5 paid sick days
• Social club
• Employer’s contribution to RRSP (retirement plan) after one year in Canada

About the Company

This is a hybrid position (from Montreal and/or Quebec City), however, it's currently open to candidates residing in the following Canadian provinces only: Quebec. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in Canada and reside in the eligible province(s) listed above.

Primary working language: English. Our clients are primarily international, so English is the main common language used.

Role Information: EN

Studio: VOLTA

Location: Americas, Canada

Area of Work: Game Development

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Working Pattern: Hybrid

Keywords Studios is dedicated to following a well-established Equal Opportunities Policy. We endeavor to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY

By providing your information in this application, you understand that we will collect and process your information in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. For more information, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice at https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/applicant-privacy-notice.