Freelance 3D Designer Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

Creative Director - Limited Run Games

Reports to: Head of Publishing

Position Summary

The Creative Director is a hands-on creative leader responsible for both defining and executing the creative vision across Limited Run Games' portfolio of physical products. This is a working leadership role that combines strategic creative direction with active involvement in the design and development of Collector's Editions, packaging, merchandise, marketing assets, and product concepts.

The Creative Director leads the Creative Department and serves as the final creative authority for all visual deliverables, partnering closely with Business Development, Licensing, Product Development, Marketing, and Production to create exceptional collector experiences that balance fan expectations, creative excellence, manufacturing feasibility, and commercial objectives.

This role ensures every Limited Run Games release meets the company's quality standards while maintaining brand consistency, production readiness, and licensor requirements. The Creative Director provides strategic leadership, mentors and develops the creative team, drives innovation across products and packaging, and establishes scalable creative processes that support a growing portfolio across PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC, and retro gaming platforms.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Leadership

• Define and communicate the creative vision for all physical game releases, Collector's Editions, packaging, merchandise, and promotional materials, including contributing to annual publishing strategy, product roadmap planning and resource forecasting.
• Lead and mentor the Creative team, including Graphic Designers, Product Designers, Freelance Artist and 3D Artists.
• Evaluate external creative partners to ensure quality, cost efficiency, and delivery performance.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, career development planning and coaching for Creative team members.
• Foster a collaborative environment that encourages creativity, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish design standards, workflows, and best practices across the department.
• Drive innovation while preserving the authenticity of both modern and retro gaming brands.

Creative Direction & Asset Approval

• Serve as the final approver for all creative assets prior to licensing, production, or manufacturing.
• Ensure all artwork meets Limited Run Games quality standards, brand guidelines, and licensor requirements.
• Review packaging layouts, product graphics, collector components, manuals, inserts, merchandise, and digital marketing assets.
• Provide clear and actionable creative feedback to internal teams and external partners.

Creative Decision Making

• Make strategic creative decisions balancing fan expectations, production limitations, licensing requirements, budgets, and timelines.
• Resolve design challenges by collaborating with Product Development, Licensing, Marketing, and Manufacturing.
• Prioritize creative resources across multiple simultaneous product launches.
• Champion high-quality user experiences from concept through final product.

3D Product Reviews

• Review and approve all 3D sculptures, statues, collectibles, packaging mockups, and prototypes.
• Ensure sculpt quality, likeness accuracy, manufacturing feasibility, and collector value.
• Collaborate with external sculptors, manufacturing partners, and engineering teams to refine products.
• Identify risks before production and provide direction for revisions.

Production Support

• Partner with Production and Manufacturing teams throughout product development.
• Review production-ready files for accuracy, print quality, die-lines, finishes, and manufacturing specifications.
• Support proof reviews, color approvals, material selections, and production samples.
• Resolve production issues while protecting creative integrity and launch schedules.
• Maintain documentation and quality standards throughout manufacturing.

Business Development Support

• Partner with Business Development on new licensing opportunities and product pitches.
• Provide creative concepts, mockups, presentations, for prospective partners.
• Support executive presentations and partner meetings with compelling visual materials.

Marketing Collaboration

• Work closely with the Marketing team to develop launch campaigns supporting new game releases and Collector's Editions.
• Ensure marketing assets accurately represent final products and maintain brand consistency.
• Collaborate on web assets, retail materials, convention graphics, and promotional initiatives.
• Establish creative priorities based on launch calendars and campaign schedules.

Qualifications

Required

• 8 to 10+ years of experience in creative leadership, product design, packaging design.
• 3 to 5+ years managing creative teams.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating packaging, product, brand, and consumer product design.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects with competing priorities.
• Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite.
• Strong understanding of print production, packaging manufacturing, product development, and supplier workflows.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience within the video game, collectibles, toy, consumer products, or entertainment industries.
• Experience working with licensed intellectual properties in the video game industry.
• Knowledge of packaging engineering and manufacturing processes.
• Experience reviewing 3D sculptures and collectible product development.
• Familiarity with Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and retro gaming brand