Art Director

Description

Papaya is a leading skill-based mobile gaming company, bringing together fun, competition, and real rewards for millions of players worldwide.

Driven by our vision to create one of the world’s most exciting player communities, we develop games powered by a large-scale B2C platform that supports tens of millions of daily tournaments and connects players around the world through social competitions.

Located in the heart of Tel Aviv, we offer a fast-moving environment, culture of innovation, professional growth, and the opportunity to make a true impact.

We’re seeking an experienced, high-impact Art Director to lead our Art & Product Design operations. Combining high-level artistic vision with hands-on execution, you will oversee visual strategy, drive UI/UX and product artwork, and serve as the core professional art authority across the company games. In this role, you will lead, mentor, and empower talented design teams, bridging human artistry with modern production workflows. We are looking for a pragmatic, agile leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and can balance creative polish with efficient, quick-turnaround execution

Responsibilities

- Creative & Artistic Leadership: Own the overall visual vision and artistic direction across Papaya’s game portfolio, ensuring strong visual identity and high design standards.
- Team Leadership & Mentorship: Direct, mentor, and grow multidisciplinary art and design teams, fostering a high-performing, agile, and collaborative culture.
- Art Direction & Quality Assurance: Maintain uncompromising standards for artistic polish and visual consistency across all games.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product, Marketing, and Tech leadership to bridge creative vision with core business and product goals.
- AI & Workflow Innovation: Drive the integration of Generative AI and automated pipelines to optimize production speed and scalability while protecting originality in design and high-level creative standards.
- Operational & Vendor Management: Oversee resource allocation, team capacity, software budgets, and external vendor/outsourcing relationships to ensure on-time delivery against business KPIs.

Requirements

- 8+ years as an Art Director, Head of Art, or Senior Creative Manager in the gaming industry.
- Proven experience leading large, multi-disciplinary art teams through a structured layer of managers.
- Deep expertise across Game UI/UX, 2D art, LiveOps, performance marketing creatives, and brand identity.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating hands-on UI/UX design, visual storytelling, creative leadership, and business impact.
- Track record of building and scaling high-performing, diverse design teams
- Hands-on experience integrating modern production tools, Adobe Creative Suite, and Generative AI pipelines into scalable workflows.
- Exceptional communication and collaboration skills for influencing stakeholders at all levels
- Ability to make fast, high-confidence decisions grounded in deep industry patterns, context, and creative instinct.

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