Principal Artist - Game Development

Frontier is an independent video game developer and publisher, crafting immersive gaming experiences with fun gameplay and unparalleled artistic quality. Renowned for its iconic creative management simulation games, Frontier captivates players worldwide with immersive and authentic game worlds. The modern studio is located in the vibrant technology hub of Cambridge (UK). The talented team at Frontier are dedicated to nurturing our existing portfolio and delivering our exciting future roadmap.

This role is offered on a full in-studio basis or a hybrid basis (minimum 3 days per week in the studio). We can provide a comprehensive relocation support package as part of any offer, should you need to relocate.

WHAT’S THE ROLE?

We are looking for a Principal Artist who will lead the visual delivery of large-scale content areas, including environments, props, vehicles, terrain, foliage and level dressing. They will be responsible for setting visual benchmarks, solving complex production challenges, and influencing quality across multiple teams and disciplines.

The Principal Artist will help define the vision for assigned areas of responsibility, collaborate with stakeholders across the project and studio, and play a key role in mentoring and supporting the growth of others.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

• Define and deliver high-quality 3D content across major feature areas or sections of the game.
• Set quality benchmarks for art assets and workflows across disciplines.
• Own large-scale visual areas from planning through to final in-game implementation.
• Collaborate with Art Directors and project leadership to develop and maintain the visual direction.
• Act as a trusted expert within the art team and across departments.

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• Mentor and coach artists at all levels, providing clear development support and helping build leadership capacity within the team.
• Represent the art team in strategic planning, reviews and cross-discipline decision making.
• Drive the investigation and implementation of new tools, techniques and workflows.
• Identify systemic issues or inefficiencies and propose solutions across teams or projects.
• Collaborate with outsourcing partners to create briefs, review deliveries and provide constructive feedback to maintain efficiency and quality.
• Create documentation to support art standards, workflows and onboarding.
• Help shape the department’s long-term goals, visual pillars and processes.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with other departments to support shared objectives.
• Lead or co-lead feature strike teams when needed, providing both vision and execution.
• Provide people leadership and management to direct report(s) through effective communication, objective setting, feedback, coaching, mentoring and support with career development to maintain an engaged, productive and inclusive team environment.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Extensive experience delivering high-quality 3D assets in a game production environment.

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• Expert proficiency with Maya for modelling and scene building.
• Advanced texturing and sculpting skills using Substance Painter and Zbrush.
• Strong understanding of real-time engines and performance optimisation for 3D content.
• Proven ability to guide and influence visual quality across a team or department.
• Deep knowledge of PBR workflows, asset setup and content organisation.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work across disciplines.
• Experience mentoring other senior team members and contributing to team development.
• Strong communication and planning skills with the ability to align visual goals with project needs.
• Experience owning major visual areas or features from conception to delivery.
• Expert-level understanding and delivery within one or more specialist content areas (e.g. foliage, terrain, vehicles), including deep knowledge of the required workflows and tooling.

BONUS IF YOU HAVE

• Experience with Substance Designer, SpeedTree or Gaea.

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• Familiarity with procedural or custom material workflows.
• Experience shaping or contributing to the definition of visual style or art direction.
• Comfortable working across both realistic and stylised projects.
• Experience with version control systems such as Perforce or Git.
• Experience working with outsourcing pipelines and managing external deliveries.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

You will work with talented and passionate people to support, develop or publish our sophisticated and enduring games, in a creative, collaborative and inclusive environment. We love what we do, and we work hard to provide outstanding experiences for our players.

Wellbeing is a big focus at Frontier, and we are continually evolving how we can support our people. We encourage a healthy work/life balance and provide a range of wellbeing activities, initiatives and sessions to support both mental and physical health.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a success-based annual bonus, share option schemes, life assurance, private family healthcare, flexitime working hours, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, in-house subsidised catering, support with relocation, a Cycle to Work scheme, free bike servicing, and social activities and events.

We strive to create an environment where everyone can fully demonstrate their capability and potential. If you therefore need any reasonable adjustments to support you during the recruitment process, please speak to your Talent Acquisition representative.

For queries, please email: recruitment@frontier.co.uk