Lead Technical Artist – Shaders

Hangar 13 / 2K is recruiting for the role of Lead Technical Artist – Shaders. Lead shader and material work for a game project, setting standards for material workflows and visual quality while working with artists, technical teams and engineering. The role also involves leading internal staff and external partners to deliver materials that support performance and the project’s art direction.

Role details

• Location: Brighton & Hove

What you’ll do

• Define and drive the visual and technical quality bar for shaders and materials.
• Establish a shader and material pipeline that supports visual fidelity and real-time performance.
• Lead research into UE5 rendering features to improve material systems.
• Work with the Art Director so materials support the game’s art direction and style.
• Create and maintain reusable, performant shaders and materials.
• Develop materials for characters, environments, weapons, FX and cinematics.
• Manage, mentor and review the work of shader and material artists.
• Collaborate with external partners so their materials meet AAA expectations.

What they’re looking for

• Have at least seven years’ games industry experience and two shipped AAA titles.
• Have proven experience as a Senior or Lead Shader/Material Artist on a large-scale project.
• Be highly proficient in the Unreal Engine 5 material editor, shader graph and rendering pipeline.
• Understand PBR workflows, physically based shading models and material authoring.
• Have hands-on experience with Lumen, Nanite and virtual texturing in UE5.
• Be able to balance high visual fidelity with performance optimisation.
• Have strong leadership, mentoring and cross-discipline collaboration skills.

Additional role information

• Experience with procedural material workflows is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of HLSL or shader programming is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with real-time ray tracing and cinematic rendering in UE5 is highly desirable.
• Experience with material systems for large open worlds is highly desirable.