3D Hard Surface Lead

Lakshya, a Keywords Studios company, in India is headquartered in Gurgaon and has a team of over 700 employees spread across studio facilities in Gurgaon, Pune and Seattle, and sales offices in San Diego and Tokyo. Setup in 2004, Lakshya has, over the last 20 years, created a reputation in the game development industry for being a highly talented and dependable game art studio. During this time, Lakshya has created art for over a hundred game titles, including hugely successful global hits such as Bloodborne, Dark Souls II, Just Cause 3, WWE 2K16, Uncharted 2, Farmville and Cityville. Lakshya’s senior team, which comprises of top-notch International and Indian talent, has a huge amount of experience of creating art for different game platforms and genres. Lakshya blends artistic creativity with strong process orientation in order to deliver best in class services. Lakshya works closely with NASSCOM to help in the growth of the game development eco-system in India.

For more info, please refer to https://lakshyadigital.com/ 

About the Role:

We are looking for a highly skilled and passionate 3D Hard Surface Lead to drive the visual and technical excellence of hard surface assets across multiple AAA projects. This role demands not only artistic mastery and deep technical knowledge of modeling pipelines but also strong leadership and project management abilities.

As a Hard Surface Lead, you will guide and mentor a team of artists, ensuring the creation of high-quality vehicles, weapons, props, and sci-fi/mechanical assets that align with the overall art direction. You will collaborate closely with art and tech teams, optimize workflows, and uphold the standards expected in world-class game development.

Skills 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fine Arts, Digital Arts, Game Design, or related discipline (preferred).
• 8+ years of experience in 3D asset creation for games, with at least 3 years in a leadership or mentorship role.
• Shipped multiple AAA titles, with a portfolio showcasing high-quality hard surface modeling (vehicles, weapons, mechanical props).
• Expert knowledge of industry-standard DCC tools: Maya, Blender, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Designer, Marmoset.
• Familiarity with CAD software (Plasticity, Fusion 360, MoI3D) and its integration into the game art pipeline is a plus.
• Strong understanding of game asset workflows including retopology, UV unwrapping, baking, and texturing.
• Solid grasp of PBR texturing principles and material authoring.
• Comfortable working in modern game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity, etc.) and optimizing assets for performance.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Able to adapt quickly to changing priorities and production realities.

Reporting to: Associate Art Director / Art Director 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Lead and mentor a team of 3D artists working on hard surface assets across multiple projects.
• Define, maintain, and communicate a clear vision for the look and feel of hard surface models (vehicles, weapons, props, etc.).
• Review and critique high-poly and game-res models, UVs, bakes, and materials to ensure technical and visual quality.
• Develop efficient, scalable workflows and contribute to the creation of a next-gen hard surface pipeline using modern tools and methods (e.g., CAD > retopo > baking > texturing).
• Collaborate with Art Directors, Concept Artists, and Technical Artists to ensure visual consistency and fidelity.
• Balance multiple projects, managing timelines, deliverables, and team performance.
• Coordinate closely with production to ensure accurate planning, tracking, and reporting of team progress.
• Troubleshoot pipeline issues, creatively solve problems, and improve processes for asset creation and integration.
• Help identify tools and technologies to improve efficiency and asset quality.
• Support hiring and training efforts to build and grow the hard surface team.

Role Information: EN
Studio: Lakshya
Location: Asia Pacific, India, Haryana
Area of Work: Art Services
Service: Create
Employment Type: Full Time
Working Pattern: Onsite