Lead Technical Artist - Shaders
On-site · Brighton, England, United Kingdom or Brno, South Moravian, Czechia
Job Summary
Lead Shader/Material Artist with deep Unreal Engine 5 expertise to define material workflows, drive look development, and lead a team to deliver AAA visuals while maintaining performance. Define the visual and technical quality bar for shaders and materials, establish optimized pipelines for high fidelity and real-time performance, and lead R&D into UE5 rendering features (Lumen, Nanite, virtual texturing, runtime shadows). Collaborate with the Art Director to align materials with the game's art direction, create modular reusable shaders, develop complex materials for characters, environments, weapons, FX, and cinematics, and ensure seamless integration across disciplines. Oversee internal team members and external co-development partners, with onsite requirement of at least 3 days per week.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum 7+ years’ experience in the games industry, with at least 2 shipped AAA titles
- Proven track record as a Senior or Lead Shader/Material Artist on a large-scale project
- Expert-level proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 material editor, shader graph, and rendering pipeline
- Strong understanding of PBR workflows, physically-based shading models, and material authoring
- Hands-on experience with Lumen, Nanite, and virtual texturing in UE5
- Ability to balance high visual fidelity with performance optimization
- Strong leadership, mentoring, and cross-discipline collaboration skills
- Willingness to be onsite at one of the studios at least 3 days a week
- Experience with material systems for multiplayer and large open worlds
- Desirable: procedural material workflows (Substance Designer, Houdini); shader programming (HLSL); real-time ray tracing and cinematic rendering in UE5
- Experience collaborating with external partners or outsourcing vendors to meet AAA expectations
- Commitment to equal opportunity and accommodations for disabilities as stated
Apply with one swipe on Sorce. We auto-fill applications and apply on your behalf — no cover letters, no 40-minute forms.
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.