Iron Galaxy Studios

Game creation is the ultimate team sport and we bring a "pick up a shovel and dig" mentality where no job is too small.

Nashville, TN

Hybrid

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Design + UX//

Managing Art Director (Nashville, TN)

Iron Galaxy Studios

| Nashville, TN | Hybrid

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At Iron Galaxy Studios, our teams support a healthy work-life balance, promote continuous improvement, and champion a diverse people-focused culture. We encourage professionals from every heritage, lifestyle, or background to apply.

This is a full-time hybrid position in Chicago (IL), Nashville (TN), or Orlando (FL) with relocation options for out-of-state applicants.

Iron Galaxy Studios is looking for a passionate and motivated Managing Art Director to join our team as an artistic visionary and ensure our visual elements are of the highest quality for our projects and the growth of the art team members.

We are a well-established independent game developer who has partnered with the titans of our industry to ship more high-caliber games than any other independent developer. We’re known for our excellent work on Killer Instinct, as well as helping to bring Skyrim and Diablo III to the Nintendo Switch.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with the Department Lead to track upcoming goals for our art department as it evolves and grows
Support and represent artists as their Career Guide to ensure their development and growth.
Connect with artist on the team and be the conduit and spark for their future growth and aspirations.
Develop an internal learning and growth system for the Art Department.
Communicate and collaborate with other development disciplines to create cohesive departmental practices across the studio.
Collaborate with creative Leads to craft and communicate the artistic vision of the projects
Concept and pitch high-level game concepts
Generate excitement and direction through Art Bibles, documentation, concept art, or mood boards
Work with Production to schedule and track tasks that help our art team execute on our goals as efficiently as possible

DESIRED SKILLS

Be an EXCELLENT listener and a proficient planner.
Experience leading a creative team in crafting their individual skill sets.
Experience working in interactive media and/or game development, some AAA game experience preferred
Experience leading a creative team in crafting a distinct, cohesive visual style
Ability to provide creative leadership through focused and inspiring reviews.
Deep expertise and experience in at least one art field (e.g., character, environment, concept)
Significant experiences working with one or more industry-standard engines, such as UE4 or Unity
Superb knowledge in one or more industry-standard software applications, such as Photoshop, Maya, ZBrush, Substance
Values-driven and inclusive, committed to doing the right thing and being respectful to everyone on our team
Fearless about trying out new tools with a commitment to keeping up with the latest industry standards, best practices, and approaches to creative projects
Commitment to mentorship and exchanging knowledge, advice, and best practices with your colleagues

BONUS SKILLS

Expert communication skills to interface with our team members and partners
Experience in educational growth and leadership training
Expert communication skills to interface with our many partners
Project management software expertise (Jira, Confluence, etc.)

ABOUT US: Iron Galaxy is one of the world’s largest independent video game developers with 60+ shipped titles. Our people combine their talents to create amazing ports, epic remasters, and new experiences from the ground up. We partner with the top companies in the gaming industry to co-develop and support AAA game creation at the highest level.

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Technology we use

Engineering
Product
People Operations

- C#Languages
- C++Languages
- ConfluenceManagement
- JIRAManagement
- Microsoft TeamsCollaboration
- ZoomCollaboration
- SmartsheetProject Management

Chelsea Blasko

Co-CEO

Building An Inclusive Culture On DEIA Foundations

Chelsea Blasko stands by Iron Galaxy’s value of “picking up a shovel” — the idea that every employee’s work and voice contribute to the company. This applies to its open culture of shifting roles and opportunities, as well as its inclusive policies. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Blasko recognizes the power of intentional acts in establishing a DEIA-focused foundation. In that spirit, Iron Galaxy offers diversity scholarships at two universities, has established DEI protocols for processes such as resume and content reviews and trains managers to be coaches for personalized development.

I feel honored that so many of our employees feel comfortable sharing this aspect of themselves with us as a company.

Rejess Marshall

DEIA Lead

Developing Games That Better Represent The Players

Rejess Marshall is familiar with the DEIA problem in video games. “The industry has been scrutinized for lack of diverse hair options, leaving underrepresented groups struggling to create characters that look like their actual appearance,” she pointed out. An inclusive product is only possible with a diverse team, which is why Iron Galaxy’s ERGs are given a voice in the game development process, to ensure such components are integrated. New hires also go through touchpoints that reinforce the company’s position on inclusivity and belonging, including company-wide events and DEIA onboarding.

Research shows that diverse teams consistently outperform teams with less diversity.

Keenan Moralicz

Community Manager

Cultivating Belonging Through Diverse Experiences

ERGs are a core aspect of Iron Galaxy’s DEIA policies, one that Keenan Moralicz appreciates as an active participant himself. He’s a member of both the Latinx and AAPI ERGs, and the events held by both organizations have enriched his sense of belonging. As a community manager, Moralicz’s also had the chance to interview fellow employees about their experiences — in and out of the gaming industry — for the company’s internal blog. What he found was a community of diverse perspectives he hasn’t found anywhere else.

As someone who’s mixed ethnicity-wise, I’ve had trouble sometimes connecting with certain cultures. Here, I am welcomed with open arms.

How do you collaborate with other teams in the company?

As an Engineer at Iron Galaxy, I spend most of my time working with artists and designers. UI is a very collaborative area and requires input from just about everyone. Audio, localization, and monetization play a huge role in how UI functions. Collaboration is the best part of being a dev because it takes input from all groups to make great games!

Joe

UI Engineer

How has your career grown since starting at the company?

I started my career at Iron Galaxy as an individual contributor working on UI, AI, graphics, and build systems for mobile, console, and PC games. When I became a lead, I started with smaller teams and now I'm a client-side engineering lead. IG has a huge variety of projects it’s a great place to level up as a game developer.

Alicia

Client-side Engineer

How do your team's ideas influence the company's direction?

At Iron Galaxy Studios, we slice every decision against the razor of our core values, and the first and most important value here is People. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring ideas or ask any questions, and then we have an open dialogue where we hash it out, explain what we’re thinking, and how we got there, then push forward as a team.

Shekhar

Head of Strategy

What's the biggest problem your team is solving?

The teams at Iron Galaxy actively work to increase diversity every day. This is a challenging task, but we are confident that our efforts make a positive impact. We’ve developed strategies to increase the hiring of underrepresented groups and strive to create a more inclusive work environment for all employees.