Job Overview
We are seeking an experienced Senior UE5 Lighting Artist to join our team and contribute to international AAA open-world game projects.
In this role, you will be responsible for the overall lighting design, atmosphere crafting, and visual quality enhancement of massive open-world environments. You will leverage high-quality real-time lighting solutions to build immersive gaming experiences.
This position requires a strong balance of artistic expression and technical optimization capabilities—ensuring top-tier visual fidelity while meeting the rigorous performance standards of an open-world project.
Key ResponsibilitiesLighting Design & Production
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Design and implement comprehensive lighting schemes for open-world environments.
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Formulate lighting representations for day/night cycles and dynamic weather systems in alignment with the project's art style.
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Handle interior and exterior scene lighting setup and atmosphere crafting.
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Enhance visual depth, spatial awareness, and narrative expression within game scenes.
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Continuously iterate and optimize visual quality based on feedback from the Art Director.
UE5 Real-Time Lighting Production
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Proficiently utilize the UE5 lighting ecosystem, including:
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Lumen Global Illumination
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Virtual Shadow Maps (VSM)
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Volumetric Fog
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Sky Atmosphere
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Exponential Height Fog
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Post Process Volumes
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Reflection Systems
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HDR Pipeline
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Take ownership of: Lighting Layout, Color Management, Exposure Control, Atmosphere Design, Weather Expression, and Time-of-Day Cycle Representation.
Open-World Project Duties
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Participate in lighting planning for large-scale open-world maps.
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Responsible for unifying the lighting style while creating distinct visual identities across multiple biomes.
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Address and resolve lighting management challenges under the World Partition framework.
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Optimize lighting performance during level streaming states.
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Ensure visual consistency across various times of day and weather conditions.
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Support exploration experiences and visual guidance through strategic lighting design.
Technical Optimization
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Conduct performance profiling and optimization for scene lighting.
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Collaborate with Technical Artists to establish lighting budgets and specifications.
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Optimize the following components to meet target performance milestones without sacrificing visual fidelity:
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Dynamic Lighting
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Shadow Cost
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Reflection Cost
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Volumetric Effects
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Post Process Effects
Requirements
Mandatory Qualifications
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5+ years of professional experience in the game industry.
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Contributed to at least one shipped AA or AAA project.
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Direct development experience in open-world projects.
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Proficient in Unreal Engine 5.
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Outstanding lighting aesthetics, artistic sensibilities, and color control capabilities.
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Familiar with cinematic photography language and camera lens expressions.
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Exceptional ability to shape environment atmosphere and mood.
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Capable of independently taking ownership of large-scale regional lighting production.
Technical Competencies
Candidates must possess practical, project-proven experience in one or more of the following core technical areas:
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Core UE5 Technologies: Production experience with Lumen, Nanite, Virtual Shadow Maps, World Partition, Data Layers, and Open-World Streaming.
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Performance Optimization: Experience in GPU performance profiling, Render Pass analysis, and utilizing tools like Unreal Insights and ProfileGPU. Console platform optimization experience is highly valued.
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Large Map Experience: Experience with open-world day/night cycles, dynamic weather lighting systems, macro-level map lighting planning, and biome-specific lighting design.
Preferred Qualifications (Pluses)
Priority will be given to candidates with experience in:
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Houdini pipeline integration.
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A Technical Artist background.
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Blueprint development capabilities.
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Shader creation experience.
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Background in photography, cinematography, or film/TV lighting.
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HDR project experience.
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Console platform development experience.
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Multiplayer open-world project experience.
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International AAA project development experience.
Portfolio Requirements
Candidates must provide one or more of the following:
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An up-to-date UE5 lighting portfolio.
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Scene breakdown cases demonstrating "Before / After" comparisons.
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Open-world project case studies.
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Day/night cycle or dynamic weather system demonstrations.
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Video showreels or cinematic flythroughs.
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Priority given to portfolios showcasing: Lumen applications, Open-World scales, AAA-quality projects, Lighting Breakdowns, or Optimization workflows.
Preferred Project Experience
Experience in the following game genres is highly preferred:
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Open-World RPGs
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Open-World Action games
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Survival Crafting games
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MMO Open-World projects
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Console AAA projects
Reference Titles: Cyberpunk 2077, Horizon series, Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin's Creed series, Red Dead Redemption series, Black Myth: Wukong.
What We Are Looking For
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Extreme pursuit of excellence in lighting and visual expression.
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Passion for AAA game development.
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Constant tracking and learning of cutting-edge UE5 rendering technologies.
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Strong communication skills and a collaborative team spirit.
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Ability to work efficiently and adaptively within an internationalized project environment.
Benefits
Base salary, Bonus, Health insurance, EAP Program, Relocation support.
