Lead Art Director (video game)
Top Benefits
About the role
We're looking for a Lead Art Director to own the visual and audio identity of our next premium VR title, a hand-crafted, VR-first action-adventure roguelite now in production, and to lead the artists and audio team who bring it to life.
Who we are
Squido Studio is a small, remote-first Québec studio of unapologetic game lovers and VR believers. We've shipped titles like No More Rainbows, DigiGods, and Wizherd, and we run a flat, no-BS shop where transparency is our #1 value, we say things as they are, we don't do ego or politics, and everyone's ideas get heard. We're gameplay-first, Nintendo-obsessed, and aggressively curious about new tools (yes, including AI in our pipeline).
The art vision
We want a Breath of the Wild-inspired art style, vibrant, stylized, cel-shaded, and timeless. Strong readable silhouettes, saturated painterly palettes, soft atmospheric depth, charming character and creature design, and a fully zero-UI, diegetic presentation where the world tells the story. The catch that makes this role special: it all has to look gorgeous and run flawlessly at 72/90fps on standalone VR. In VR, performance is part of the art, and nailing a BotW-caliber look within that budget is exactly the challenge we're hiring for.
What you'll own
The visual vision. Define and champion the art direction end-to-end, style, color, lighting, character/creature design, environments, VFX, and the zero-UI diegetic language. Build and maintain the art bible the whole team rallies around. The audio vision. Direct music and sound design (in-house and with our audio partners) so the game sounds as intentional as it looks, spatial audio is core to our zero-UI design. Leading the team. Grow and lead a cross-disciplinary art + audio team (concept, 3D environment/character/enemy, VFX, technical art, animation, UI, audio). Set the bar, give sharp and generous feedback, and create an environment where artists do their best work. Beauty within budget. Partner with our Technical Director to hit a stylized visual benchmark that survives standalone-VR constraints, silhouette clarity, stepped toon shading, rim lighting, painterly albedo, baked GI, LODs, and draw-call discipline. Cross-functional partnership. Work hand-in-hand with the Lead Game Designer and engineering to take features from graybox to final quality, and defend a cohesive visual identity across the whole game. Iterate relentlessly. Use playtest feedback to sharpen readability, comfort, and impact, and kill your darlings when the game needs it.
What you bring
6+ years in game art, with shipped titles and real time leading/directing an art team. A portfolio that proves strong stylized / non-photorealistic art direction, you can define a cohesive, readable, characterful look (cel-shading, toon/NPR, painterly stylization à la BotW) and hold a team to it. Deep understanding of real-time art performance, you think in draw calls, overdraw, LODs, baked vs. dynamic lighting, and shader cost, not just pretty frames. Leadership people actually want to follow, clear direction, generous feedback, zero ego. You lift the team up rather than gatekeeping. Hands-on fluency, you can jump into the engine/DCC tools to prototype a look, set up a shader/lighting pass, and show rather than just tell. Comfort directing audio (or a strong track record collaborating closely with audio leads/composers). Fluent, clear communication in a collaborative, remote team.
Bonus points
VR / XR shipped experience (Quest or PCVR) and an instinct for VR comfort, scale, and legibility. Experience with Unity and stylized/NPR rendering pipelines (URP, custom toon shaders, Application SpaceWarp). A love of the Nintendo of art direction, timeless over trendy, clarity over clutter. Enthusiasm for AI-assisted workflows as a force multiplier (we lean into them). Understand and/or speaking french.
How we work & what we offer
100% remote (work from anywhere, you must remain an official Québec resident for our tax-credit eligibility), with a beautiful optional office at Indie Asylum (160 St-Viateur Est, Montréal) whenever you want it. Flexible schedule, we trust adults; work when you're at your best, show up for the few meetings that matter. Salary: $80,000–$120,000 CAD, commensurate with experience. Group insurance, 3 weeks vacation + paid studio closure between Christmas and New Year's.
Not the right fit? Search for Art Director jobs in Quebec, Quebec, Canada
About Squido Studio
We design and develop video games with gameplay first.
Similar Jobs
Lead Art Director (video game)
Top Benefits
About the role
We're looking for a Lead Art Director to own the visual and audio identity of our next premium VR title, a hand-crafted, VR-first action-adventure roguelite now in production, and to lead the artists and audio team who bring it to life.
Who we are
Squido Studio is a small, remote-first Québec studio of unapologetic game lovers and VR believers. We've shipped titles like No More Rainbows, DigiGods, and Wizherd, and we run a flat, no-BS shop where transparency is our #1 value, we say things as they are, we don't do ego or politics, and everyone's ideas get heard. We're gameplay-first, Nintendo-obsessed, and aggressively curious about new tools (yes, including AI in our pipeline).
The art vision
We want a Breath of the Wild-inspired art style, vibrant, stylized, cel-shaded, and timeless. Strong readable silhouettes, saturated painterly palettes, soft atmospheric depth, charming character and creature design, and a fully zero-UI, diegetic presentation where the world tells the story. The catch that makes this role special: it all has to look gorgeous and run flawlessly at 72/90fps on standalone VR. In VR, performance is part of the art, and nailing a BotW-caliber look within that budget is exactly the challenge we're hiring for.
What you'll own
The visual vision. Define and champion the art direction end-to-end, style, color, lighting, character/creature design, environments, VFX, and the zero-UI diegetic language. Build and maintain the art bible the whole team rallies around. The audio vision. Direct music and sound design (in-house and with our audio partners) so the game sounds as intentional as it looks, spatial audio is core to our zero-UI design. Leading the team. Grow and lead a cross-disciplinary art + audio team (concept, 3D environment/character/enemy, VFX, technical art, animation, UI, audio). Set the bar, give sharp and generous feedback, and create an environment where artists do their best work. Beauty within budget. Partner with our Technical Director to hit a stylized visual benchmark that survives standalone-VR constraints, silhouette clarity, stepped toon shading, rim lighting, painterly albedo, baked GI, LODs, and draw-call discipline. Cross-functional partnership. Work hand-in-hand with the Lead Game Designer and engineering to take features from graybox to final quality, and defend a cohesive visual identity across the whole game. Iterate relentlessly. Use playtest feedback to sharpen readability, comfort, and impact, and kill your darlings when the game needs it.
What you bring
6+ years in game art, with shipped titles and real time leading/directing an art team. A portfolio that proves strong stylized / non-photorealistic art direction, you can define a cohesive, readable, characterful look (cel-shading, toon/NPR, painterly stylization à la BotW) and hold a team to it. Deep understanding of real-time art performance, you think in draw calls, overdraw, LODs, baked vs. dynamic lighting, and shader cost, not just pretty frames. Leadership people actually want to follow, clear direction, generous feedback, zero ego. You lift the team up rather than gatekeeping. Hands-on fluency, you can jump into the engine/DCC tools to prototype a look, set up a shader/lighting pass, and show rather than just tell. Comfort directing audio (or a strong track record collaborating closely with audio leads/composers). Fluent, clear communication in a collaborative, remote team.
Bonus points
VR / XR shipped experience (Quest or PCVR) and an instinct for VR comfort, scale, and legibility. Experience with Unity and stylized/NPR rendering pipelines (URP, custom toon shaders, Application SpaceWarp). A love of the Nintendo of art direction, timeless over trendy, clarity over clutter. Enthusiasm for AI-assisted workflows as a force multiplier (we lean into them). Understand and/or speaking french.
How we work & what we offer
100% remote (work from anywhere, you must remain an official Québec resident for our tax-credit eligibility), with a beautiful optional office at Indie Asylum (160 St-Viateur Est, Montréal) whenever you want it. Flexible schedule, we trust adults; work when you're at your best, show up for the few meetings that matter. Salary: $80,000–$120,000 CAD, commensurate with experience. Group insurance, 3 weeks vacation + paid studio closure between Christmas and New Year's.
Not the right fit? Search for Art Director jobs in Quebec, Quebec, Canada
About Squido Studio
We design and develop video games with gameplay first.