Associate Art Director - Characters | Directeur.trice Artistique Associé.e - Personnages

• Full-time
• Business Segment: NBCU Corporate

Company Description

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our global theme park destinations, consumer products, and experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through our powerhouse film and television studios, including Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and Focus Features, and the four global television studios under the Universal Studio Group banner, and operate industry-leading theme parks and experiences around the world through Universal Destinations & Experiences, including Universal Orlando Resort, home to Universal Epic Universe, and Universal Studios Hollywood. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Visit for more information.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

Job Description

Role Summary

NBCUniversal is seeking an experienced Associate Art Director – Characters to lead, define and drive the visual direction and consistency of characters for an ambitious new interactive entertainment experience. This role is responsible for ensuring that the full character ecosystem—including hero characters and large-scale population systems—achieves a high level of quality, cohesion, and scalability.

Reporting to the Art Director, the Associate Art Director – Characters will work closely with Character Art Leads, Technical Art, and cross-disciplinary teams to ensure alignment across pipelines, systems, and production goals. The role involves leading and managing Character Art Leads while providing high-level direction, establishing standards, and maintaining consistency across internal teams and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate the visual direction for characters across the full project.
• Ensure consistency and quality across the full character ecosystem (hero characters and crowd systems).
• Lead and manage Character Art Leads and Review Artists, providing mentoring, direction, feedback, and alignment.
• Review assets and validate quality to ensure alignment with artistic and technical standards.
• Drive cross-discipline collaboration with Animation, Design, Tech Art, and Lighting teams.
• Ensure alignment between art direction, production constraints, and scalable pipelines.
• Maintain visual consistency across internal production and external partners.
• Identify risks and guide teams to deliver quality at scale across large production environments.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Extensive experience (10+ yrs) in AAA game development with a focus on character art.
• Proven experience leading multiple teams or disciplines on published AAA title.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality character work and artistic direction.
• Strong understanding of modular character pipelines and real-time production workflows.
• Experience working with large-scale character systems including crowd or customization pipelines.
• Strong experience with real-time engines. Unreal Engine 5 and Metahuman experience is a plus.
• Solid comprehension of technical constraints allowing scalability on multiple platforms, from high-end to mobile.
• Ability to translate artistic vision into clear direction for teams.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.

Desired Characteristics

• Experience defining artistic vision and ability to maintain a scalable and cohesive character style identity on large-scale and open-world productions.
• Strong understanding of scalable character systems and production constraints.
• Experience working with outsourcing partners and distributed teams.
• Strategic mindset with strong prioritization and alignment skills.
• Strong sensitivity to realism, diversity, and character representation.
• Deep understanding of the gaming industry, current trends and player preferences.
• Excellent communication and natural practice of positive leadership skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Passion for storytelling through character design.
• Desire to think and explore innovative solutions.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be willing to work in our Montreal office a minimum of 4 days a week.
• Must be legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Must be willing to travel for work related business, if necessary

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to View email address on click.appcast.io.

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