Lead Character Artist

We are seeking a talented Lead Character Artist to join our dynamic Development team at Avalanche Studios Group in Stockholm. In this role, you'll act as a vital link between our Art Director and a team of artists, ensuring the artistic vision is translated into outstanding visual content, with a strong emphasis on animal and creature design. If you're passionate about leadership, realism-driven creature art, and long-term creative excellence, we want to hear from you.

What you'll do

• Lead and inspire a team of talented artists, clearly communicating and implementing the artistic vision to deliver exceptional quality visuals, with a strong focus on animals, and characters.
• Act as a subject-matter expert in animal anatomy, behavior, and realism, ensuring authenticity and visual credibility across all creature assets.
• Oversee visual asset creation, ensuring artwork meets productivity, delivery, and quality benchmarks throughout the pipeline.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with designers, developers, and other stakeholders to resolve bottlenecks, improve workflows, and foster a positive, high-performing team culture.
• Occasionally contribute hands-on to asset creation, using your artistic expertise to guide quality, consistency, and problem-solving at a high level.
• Advocate for systemic improvements, scalable solutions, and long-term thinking within art production and pipelines.

People Management

• Support your direct reports throughout their entire employee journey, from hiring and onboarding to performance evaluations and career growth.
• Actively engage in team members’ professional development by providing constructive feedback, mentorship, and clear growth paths.
• Handle administrative responsibilities such as approving time reports, leave requests, and maintaining accurate employee records.
• Serve as a company representative regarding organizational, cultural, and legal responsibilities, ensuring compliance with workplace standards, employee privacy, and working conditions.

Who you are

• Extensive experience in game development within Art departments, with a high degree of expertise in animal and creature design, as well as strong foundations in general character art.
• Deep understanding of realistic anatomy, materials, fur/skin workflows, and creature-specific production challenges.
• Proven leadership skills with a track record of coaching and developing high-performing art teams.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, able to align artistic goals across multiple disciplines.
• Experience with or strong interest in pipeline creation, optimization, and long-term workflow improvements.
• A proactive, solution-oriented mindset and a passion for improving both creative quality and production efficiency.