Art Lead, Art Outsourcing - League of Legends, Summoners Rift

The League of Legends team is a multi-disciplinary group of artists, designers, engineers, and producers who are passionately committed to evolving the game for its global player base. We strive to create the most engaging and beautiful player experiences through impeccable art and thrilling gameplay.

As an Art Outsourcing Manager for League of Legends, you will be the vital link between our internal art leadership and our global network of external development partners. You will be embedded within the League of Legends art team and will be responsible for managing the end-to-end pipeline of outsourced assets, from initial request and vendor selection, to final delivery and integration. Your expertise in art production, vendor management, and clear communication will ensure that every external asset meets the high-quality bar and distinctive style of Runeterra.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with Internal Art Directors and Leads to understand project goals, artistic vision, and quality benchmarks for all outsourced work
• Manage the day-to-day operational relationship with multiple external art partners, ensuring clear, consistent, and constructive communication
• Prepare and distribute comprehensive art packets, including detailed briefs, style guides, technical specifications, and reference materials
• Own the intake process for outsourcing requests, prioritizing needs, tracking capacity, and allocating work to the most suitable external partners
• Facilitate and manage the feedback loop between internal craft leads, artists and external vendors, ensuring notes are clear, actionable, and delivered in a timely manner
• Track and monitor the progress of all outsourced assets, managing schedules and milestones to ensure on-time delivery for internal production needs
• Conduct initial quality control checks on delivered assets to ensure they meet technical and artistic standards and collaborate with craft teams to ensure they are accepted and integrated into the game
• Identify and proactively troubleshoot roadblocks in the outsourcing pipeline, escalating issues when necessary
• Contribute to the evolution of our outsourcing processes, tools, and best practices to improve efficiency and quality over time
• Maintain a deep understanding of the League of Legends art style and technical requirements to effectively evaluate external work

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in art production, outsourcing, or vendor management roles within the game industry
• 3+ years of game industry experience creating 3D character or 3D environment art on AAA game titles
• Shipped at least two AAA game titles in a role that involved managing 3D art assets.
• Deep understanding of game art creation pipelines across multiple disciplines (e.g., environment asset art, 3D character, VFX, animation)
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with experience using tracking software (e.g., Jira, Shotgun)
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build trust and collaborate with both internal teams and external partners
• A strong artistic eye and ability to provide constructive, objective feedback against a defined style guide
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, iterative, and live-service environment

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working directly as an environment or character artist in game development
• Experience managing art outsourcing for a live-service game
• Existing relationships with external art development studios and freelance artists
• Passionate player of League of Legends with a strong understanding of its champions and world

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

 

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

 

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.