Principal Concept Artist

Frontier Developments

Principal Concept Artist defining and elevating visual direction for projects at Frontier, an independent game developer based in Cambridge. Leading the concept team while creating high-quality visuals.

Posted 6/10/2026full-timeCambridge • 🇬🇧 United KingdomLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define and guide the creation of high-quality concept art across key content areas, including characters, environments, props, and visual storytelling elements.
Work closely with the Art Director to interpret and extend the project’s visual vision, translating it into clear, actionable concept direction.
Act as the primary concept point of contact within the project, ensuring alignment between Art Direction and concept delivery.
Lead and support the concept team within the project, providing clear direction, feedback, and guidance to ensure consistent, high-quality output.
Mentor and develop artists at all levels, supporting progression, capability building, and leadership growth where appropriate.
Take creative briefs and explore a wide range of visual solutions, refining them into strong, production-ready directions.
Establish and communicate clear visual targets, benchmarks, and supporting material to guide concept artists and downstream teams.
Break down high-level creative direction into modular, production-ready concepts aligned with modelling, animation, design, and implementation requirements.
Provide high-level feedback across teams, ensuring clarity, consistency, and alignment of concept work across all areas.
Collaborate closely with design, production, and other art disciplines to ensure concept work supports gameplay, narrative, and technical constraints.
Represent the concept discipline in project planning, reviews, and cross-team discussions, supporting alignment and decision-making.
Support planning, scoping, and prioritisation of concept work in collaboration with Production and project leadership, ensuring alignment with delivery needs.
Contribute hands-on concept work where appropriate to establish quality benchmarks and resolve complex visual challenges.
Support teams in managing outsourced concept work, ensuring clear direction, effective feedback, and alignment with project standards.
Identify and contribute to improvements in workflows, pipelines, documentation, and discipline practices, supporting efficiency, clarity, and quality across the project.

Requirements

What you’ll need

A strong portfolio demonstrating expert-level concept design across multiple disciplines and styles.
Significant experience in senior or leadership-level concept art roles within the games industry.
Exceptional artistic skill, with deep understanding of anatomy, composition, perspective, lighting, and visual storytelling.
Proven ability to translate high-level artistic vision into clear, actionable concept direction.
Strong understanding of how concept art supports modelling, design, gameplay, and narrative.
Experience guiding and supporting teams to deliver high-quality concept work.
Demonstrated ability to provide clear, constructive feedback that improves quality and clarity of output.
Experience mentoring and developing artists, including supporting progression and capability building.
Experience acting as a key point of contact or leading concept direction within a project.
Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across disciplines.
Strong problem-solving ability, able to resolve complex creative and production challenges.
Experience working with outsourcing pipelines and supporting teams with external partners.

Benefits

Comp & perks

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
Cycle to Work scheme
free bike servicing
social activities and events

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

concept artvisual storytellinganatomycompositionperspectivelightingmodellingdesigngameplaynarrative

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringcommunicationcollaborationproblem-solvingfeedbackguidancedirectionsupportinfluence