emberlab

emberlab

Lead VFX Artist

Orange, California

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 19 days ago
MayaUnreal EngineLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationProblem SolvingMentoring

About the role

  • This is a leadership position for someone who can directly contribute while simultaneously guiding others on VFX tasks.

Responsibilities

  • Mentor and grow the team - Manage, support, and inspire a team of VFX artists. Provide thoughtful feedback and help artists grow through regular critique and coaching.
  • Lead visual effects creation - Guide the development and implementation of visually stunning and optimized visual effects for characters, environments, and gameplay.
  • Partner with production - Collaborate closely with producers to estimate departmental needs, break down project tasks, and ensure scope and schedules align with team capacity.
  • Collaborate across disciplines - Work closely with animation, programming, tech art and design teams to integrate VFX seamlessly into the game with an eye to optimize performance and implement shader and material solutions.
  • Maintain and improve pipelines - Uphold technical standards and help refine tools and workflows for efficient asset production and integration.
  • Ensure performance targets - Validate that all assets meet engine and platform constraints, with a focus on quality, optimization, and consistency

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Art, Animation, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in creating visual effects for video games, with a strong portfolio demonstrating your skills.
  • Proficiency at creating real-time VFX for Unreal Engine.
  • Experience with VFX optimization and performance profiling.
  • Strong communication and collaboration abilities, with the ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment.
  • Experience creating stylized FX textures from scratch.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Nice to have

  • Experience working on AAA game titles.
  • Familiarity with game development pipelines and processes.
  • Experience creating both stylized and realistic VFX.
  • Up-to-date knowledge of the VFX tools inside Unreal Engine 5, including Niagara Fluids and Chaos Destruction.
  • Knowledge of other VFX creation tools such as Houdini, Maya, and Photoshop.
  • Please include a portfolio.

Benefits

  • Own the visual and technical bar - Drive the artistic vision for the VFX team from concept to final implementation, including particles, shaders, textures, and simulations.

This listing is sourced directly from emberlab's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.