Principal Concept Artist - VALORANT Mobile

Location: Shanghai, China Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to critical and player acclaim. As the most played video game in the world, over 100 million play every month. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience. We’re looking for humble but ambitious, razor-sharp professionals who can teach us a thing or two. We promise to return the favor. Like us, you take play seriously; you’re passionate about games. We embrace those who see things differently, aren’t afraid to experiment, and who have a healthy disregard for constraints. That's where you come in. VALORANT Mobile brings VALORANT’s competitive spirit, distinctive style, and vibrant world to millions of players every day. Together with our development and publishing partners, we’re building a tactical shooter where precise gunplay, team strategy, and player creativity create unforgettable competitive moments. As a Principal Concept Artist on VALORANT Mobile, you will shape that creative work, inspiring our partners to push what VALORANT can become while preserving what makes it unmistakably VALORANT. You will lead the visual direction of major features and moments developed with our development and publishing partners, from Lunar New Year social hub themes and Mobile-original skin explorations to the visual tone of new in-game experiences. Working closely with China product leadership and the VALORANT Creative Director, you will turn product goals and player insights into compelling creative direction and guide partner teams from early exploration through final execution. You will also own the ongoing creative review of partner-developed content, providing clear, actionable feedback that raises craft quality and maintains consistency with VALORANT’s characters, world, and visual identity. Responsibilities Lead visual direction for major VALORANT Mobile features and moments, establishing creative concepts, visual targets, and quality expectations with external development and publishing partners. Engage early to align on direction, surface creative risks, and reduce avoidable rework Own creative review across partner-developed content, including sprays, emotes, icons, player cards, and other in-game assets. Provide actionable feedback from concept through final execution on craft quality, shape language, composition, stylistic consistency, and character likeness Translate VALORANT’s creative direction and IP foundations into clear briefs, visual references, style guides, and review criteria that help partners deliver consistently high-quality work Partner with the VALORANT Creative Director and relevant discipline and area leads to maintain creative continuity across PC and Mobile, bringing player motivations, Chinese youth culture, and global creative trends into content tailored to mobile audiences Establish a consistent review process with product, production, creative, and publishing partners. Consolidate feedback, clarify priorities, and track creative issues through resolution Resolve creative questions within agreed guidelines and escalate new IP interpretations, significant departures from established direction, and unresolved creative disagreements to the appropriate owners Build trusted relationships with creative leads on our external development and publishing partners, providing direction and coaching that strengthens their creative judgment and ability to deliver high-quality work independently Required Qualifications 8+ years of experience in game development with 8+ years leading or directing art teams Deep and demonstrable passion and knowledge of the VALORANT IP, from overarching story to character interactions and dynamics, to character likeness Demonstrable ability to lead creative work across multiple distributed teams and partners Practitioner, mentor, and student of world-class visual design practices able to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and craft across the art org. Skilled communicator with experience providing and maintaining feedback for a large art team, Style Guides, and running art reviews and making presentations to the team. Demonstrated deep understanding of player motivations and needs for the games they have worked on Knowledge of various art disciplines and artistic trends Demonstrated understanding of how to appeal to a global audience Desired Qualifications 5+ years in a leadership role on a shipped game or live service. Experience Art Directing the work of scaled teams and outsource studios Experience as an Art Director or key artistic decision maker on at least one of the following: shipped games, live services, or R&D projects Demonstrable experience in driving org culture and health. Experience working within First Person Shooter genre and/ or team based competitive games 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!