Remote Principal Environment Artist - GameSim - Talent Pipeline

Keywords Studios is seeking a Remote Principal Environment Artist for their GameSim division. This senior role involves creating high-quality environments, leading artistic production, and collaborating with various teams to meet creative goals. The position is part of a talent pipeline for future hiring needs, focusing on craftsmanship and collaboration in game development. Strong leadership and communication skills are essential for success in this role.
Description
GameSim is a game development studio that partners with clients to build games across PC/console and a range of art styles. We care about craftsmanship, collaboration, and shipping work we’re proud to put our names on. If you love building environments and believable spaces we’d like to meet you. Our headquarters is based in Orlando, FL!


Talent Pipeline Posting Notice
Please note that this posting is not tied to an immediate vacancy. We are proactively building a pipeline of qualified candidates in anticipation of potential hiring needs over the coming months. Applications will be reviewed and retained for future consideration as opportunities arise.


We are seeking a Principal Environment Artist to help define and elevate the quality, efficiency, and consistency of environment-art production across GameSim projects.


This is a high level senior individual-contributor position for an experienced artist who can operate at both the strategic and hands-on levels. You will create benchmark-quality work, establish practical production standards, solve complex artistic and technical problems, and provide direction to environment teams working across different projects, engines, styles, and partner studios.


You will work closely with Art Directors, project leads, Technical Art, Production, Design, Engineering, clients, and partner studios to translate creative goals into clear and achievable environment-art strategies.


This role requires strong leadership, sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to influence teams through expertise, example, and collaboration.


What Success Looks LikeWithin your first 90 days, you will:
Develop a strong understanding of GameSim’s projects, clients, production structure, and environment-art capabilities.Build trust with artists, project leadership, clients, and partner studios through clear communication and reliable decision-making.Create or guide the development of benchmark work that establishes a clear visual and technical quality bar.Identify a meaningful artistic, technical, or workflow challenge and help implement a practical improvement.Provide feedback and mentorship that improves the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of the environment team.ResponsibilitiesArtistic Leadership and ExecutionCreate high-quality real-time environments, architecture, modular kits, hero assets, materials, terrain, foliage, and world-building content.Produce benchmark assets and scenes that communicate expectations for composition, scale, visual hierarchy, material quality, environmental storytelling, and final polish.Translate art direction, concept art, reference material, design requirements, and client feedback into clear production goals.Establish environment-art strategies for modular construction, asset reuse, trim sheets, material systems, terrain, foliage, set dressing, and world building.Maintain a strong hands-on contribution when establishing quality bars, validating workflows, solving difficult problems, or supporting critical deliverables.Evaluate environment artwork objectively and provide specific, actionable feedback through reviews, paintovers, blockouts, reference boards, documentation, or in-engine examples.Production and Pipeline DevelopmentPartner with Art Direction, Production, and Technical Art to define environment workflows that balance visual quality, scope, schedule, and technical requirements.Identify artistic, technical, and production risks early and recommend practical solutions.Help teams break down broad or incomplete direction into understandable tasks, milestones, priorities, and acceptance criteria.Improve environment-art pipelines through reusable workflows, templates, documentation, example assets, and production standards.Support planning and estimation by evaluating asset complexity, dependencies, staffing needs, and production risks.Troubleshoot challenging issues related to asset construction, materials, world building, optimization, engine implementation, or content integration.Help ensure environments meet project requirements for performance, memory, streaming, draw calls, shader complexity, collision, LODs, and platform limitations.Team and Project InfluenceGuide environment artists across internal teams, partner studios, and external development groups.Mentor senior artists and emerging leads in artistic judgment, communication, planning, review practices, and decision-making.Collaborate with Art Directors to maintain a consistent visual direction across teams and deliverables.