Lead Lighting Artist

Accountabilities:

• • Lead and mentor a team of lighting artists, providing clear expectations, constructive feedback, coaching, and career development support.
  • Establish and maintain lighting standards, best practices, workflows, and pipelines that promote productivity, consistency, and artistic excellence.
  • Guide the team in creating dynamic, visually compelling lighting for real-time environments and in-game cinematics.
  • Partner with the Art Director and other discipline leads to understand, maintain, and execute the project's overall visual direction.
  • Develop and continuously improve efficient lighting pipelines, acting as a key point of contact for technical or workflow challenges and proactively removing roadblocks.
  • Collaborate with Core Technology teams to meet technical specifications, optimization targets, and real-time rendering requirements.
  • Work closely with Production and scheduling teams to establish realistic timelines, manage priorities, and monitor project progress.
  • Collaborate with other art disciplines to ensure cohesive, polished, and visually striking results across the game.
  • Research and introduce new lighting techniques, technologies, and workflows that can improve quality and production efficiency.
  • Monitor team and project performance, identify opportunities for optimization, and communicate progress and priorities to cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Participate constructively in iterative feedback cycles, incorporating new direction and constraints while maintaining a high standard of quality.
  • Foster a positive, inclusive, agile, and collaborative team environment that encourages innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.

  Requirements:

  • 7+ years of professional experience in real-time lighting and final rendering, including demonstrated experience as an Art Lead on at least one shipped AAA game.
  • Deep understanding of Physically Based Rendering (PBR), real-time lighting, runtime optimization, and lighting for in-game cinematics.
  • Strong hands-on expertise with Unreal Engine 5, particularly Lumen Lighting and Sequencer.
  • Proven experience recruiting, developing, mentoring, and retaining high-performing artistic talent while effectively managing workload and team well-being.
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate with Core Technology and Production teams to establish, optimize, and maintain real-time lighting pipelines within technical and performance constraints.
  • Strong artistic judgment and attention to detail, combined with a practical understanding of production requirements and technical limitations.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex ideas clearly and provide constructive feedback with empathy and professionalism.
  • Strong cross-disciplinary collaboration skills and the ability to build productive, trust-based relationships across different levels and functions.
  • Proactive, self-motivated, and comfortable taking ownership of initiatives in ambiguous or rapidly changing environments.
  • Ability to remain effective under pressure while managing shifting priorities and maintaining high standards of quality.
  • Strong listening skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to understand different perspectives and navigate organizational complexity.
  • Openness to feedback and a demonstrated willingness to learn, adapt, and iterate quickly.
  • Strong organizational skills and the ability to independently drive work forward while maintaining accountability for quality and deadlines.
  • For candidates located in Quebec, professional proficiency in both French and English is required for collaboration with international teams and partners and for working with specialized technical documentation.
  • Eligibility to work in North America is required; relocation support is not specified for this position.

  Benefits:

  • Opportunity to contribute to a high-profile AAA game project and help shape its visual identity and immersive player experience.
  • Remote-friendly working environment.
  • Opportunity to lead and mentor a talented team while influencing lighting practices and technical direction.
  • Collaborative environment spanning art, design, engineering, animation, audio, production, and technology disciplines.
  • Opportunities to research and adopt emerging real-time rendering and lighting technologies.
  • Exposure to advanced Unreal Engine 5 technologies, including Lumen and Sequencer.
  • Culture focused on creativity, continuous learning, ownership, collaboration, and high-quality work.
  • Supportive and inclusive workplace committed to equal opportunity.
  • Reasonable accommodations available for qualified candidates with disabilities throughout the recruitment and employment process.