VFX Artist – GameSim – Talent Pipeline

About This Opportunity

We are representing a confidential game development studio that partners with clients to build games across PC and console platforms. Our talent team is building a pipeline of experienced VFX Artists in anticipation of upcoming project needs over the coming months.

This is a hands-on production role with opportunities to support small teams, guide VFX quality, mentor other artists, and grow toward lead-level responsibilities. The position offers flexible work arrangements, including remote, hybrid, or in-office options.

Responsibilities

• Create custom real-time visual effects and implement them in-engine using Unreal Engine 5, Unity, or proprietary tools
• Build high-quality effects for gameplay, environments, cinematics, atmosphere, combat, interaction, destruction, UI/game feedback, and other project needs
• Create all necessary textures, flipbooks, materials, meshes, simulations, and supporting assets for real-time VFX
• Maintain clean, readable, well-structured material graphs, Niagara systems, parameters, naming conventions, and reusable effect setups
• Work with complex material setups, Blueprints, scripting hooks, animation events, gameplay triggers, or engine-specific implementation needs
• Troubleshoot VFX issues in partnership with Technical Art, Engineering, Design, Animation, Audio, and other disciplines
• Own VFX optimization fundamentals, including particle counts, overdraw, shader cost, texture memory, spawn rates, scalability settings, and platform performance constraints
• Review work from internal artists, partner studios, or external vendors and provide clear, constructive, actionable feedback
• Help maintain a consistent quality bar across effects, features, levels, or small team pods
• Support short-term planning by helping break down VFX requests into clear tasks, priorities, dependencies, risks, and definitions of done
• Proactively identify production risks, including missing gameplay hooks, performance spikes, unclear direction, pipeline gaps, dependency issues, or inconsistent style execution
• Contribute to VFX workflow improvements, reusable templates, documentation, libraries, naming standards, or scalability rules when appropriate

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional game industry experience as a real-time VFX Artist or similar role
• At least one shipped game title
• Proven end-to-end real-time VFX workflow experience, from concept and asset creation through in-engine implementation and polish
• Strong experience implementing effects in Unreal Engine 4 or 5, with strong working knowledge of Niagara
• Strong particle animation fundamentals, including timing, rhythm, shape language, motion, impact, anticipation, dissipation, and readability
• Strong understanding of natural energies and materials such as fire, smoke, water, electricity, magic, dust, debris, explosions, atmospherics, and environmental effects
• Strong material and texture creation skills using tools such as Photoshop, Substance Designer, or similar software
• Demonstrated understanding of real-time VFX optimization, including particle counts, overdraw, memory usage, material cost, scalability, and performance constraints
• Ability to balance visual impact, gameplay clarity, technical cost, and production schedule
• Strong communication skills, including clear written updates, verbal communication, documentation, and actionable feedback
• Ability to interpret vague creative, design, or client direction and turn it into clear VFX tasks or implementation plans
• Experience mentoring, reviewing, or guiding other artists
• Strong ownership, follow-through, organization, and problem-solving ability
• Interest in growing into broader leadership responsibilities over time

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency with Perforce, Jira, Miro, and Confluence
• Houdini, EmberGen, Unity, or Substance Designer experience
• Experience with proprietary engines or custom VFX tools
• Scripting or coding skills, such as C#, Python, Blueprint, or similar
• 2D animation or traditional animation experience
• 3D animation, simulation, or procedural content creation experience
• Experience creating both stylized and realistic effects
• Experience with foliage, atmospherics, environmental effects, weather, destruction, or ambient world VFX
• Experience working with outsourcing, co-development teams, partner studios, or external vendors
• Experience establishing VFX standards, templates, naming conventions, libraries, scalability rules, or pipeline documentation
• Experience leading a small pod, strike team, feature group, or informal group of artists

Portfolio Requirements:

Your portfolio must demonstrate real-time VFX capabilities and include:

• Real-time VFX assets with strong readability, timing, shape language, and clearly understandable visual elements
• At least one example shown in a real-time gameplay context, preferably a video of the effect happening in-game or during interactive gameplay
• Examples of strong material definition and texture work, with clean, readable, well-constructed setups
• Effects that demonstrate fundamentals such as composition, mood, color choices, timing, motion, impact, readability, and understanding of natural energies
• Examples of effects implemented in-engine, preferably in Unreal Engine 4 or 5 / Niagara
• Breakdowns showing your process, including textures, materials, emitters, timing, implementation, optimization, or technical setup where applicable
• Clear explanations of what you personally created, especially for any team-created work

Location Requirements:

Candidates must reside in one of the following U.S. states: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Montana, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oklahoma, or Utah. While applicants from all listed states will be considered, candidates located in Orlando (FL), Austin (TX), or New Orleans (LA) are preferred. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

How We Work With You

When you apply through Get A Job.ai, our recruiting team will review your application and portfolio. If your background aligns with the role, we'll schedule a screening conversation to discuss your experience, career goals, and the opportunity in detail. From there, we'll submit qualified candidates to our client for consideration. Please do not contact the employer directly—all communication should go through Get A Job.ai to ensure a professional and coordinated process.

An art test may be required as part of the interview process. Resume and portfolio link are required with your application.

Pay

This is a pipeline posting for anticipated future openings. Compensation details will be discussed during the interview process based on experience and the specific role requirements.

Get A Job.ai is an equal opportunity recruiter. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and evaluate candidates based on skills, experience, and alignment with role requirements.