Lead Technical Artist (Environment)

Just Wright; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive premium relocation package

Free lunches Monday – Friday

Mental well-being program including counseling sessions

Annual leave of 20 working days

Pet friendly workspace

Top-tier tech setup with high-end equipment

Job summary

A leading entertainment company is seeking a Lead Technical Artist (Environment) to innovate in game artistry. This role involves transforming concept designs into optimized environments using Unreal Engine 5, overseeing a talented team to push gaming boundaries through collaborative creativity and technical proficiency.

Qualifications

• Proven ability in leading environment pipelines.
• Expertise in AAA title development.
• Strong portfolio showcasing diverse art styles.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the full environment art pipeline from concept to integration.
• Lead and mentor a team of artists during project development.
• Collaborate closely with various teams to optimize game environments.

Skills

Unreal Engine 5

3D modelling

Lighting setup

Technical art skills

Team leadership

Education

Practical experience in game development

Tools

Substance Painter

Maya

Blender

Job description

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Department: Environment Art

Location: Hybrid - Australia

Compensation: $100,000 - $120,000 / year

Description

Our client, an entertainment pioneer fusing hyper-real virtual production with next-gen gameplay, is building something that pushes the limits of what immersive gaming can be.

Think real-time pipelines. Unreal Engine magic. And global IPs from Netflix, Warner Bros, FIFA, Universal Studios, and more.

Job Overview

We’re not just designing environments, we’re building living, breathing worlds that captivate players and push the boundaries of game artistry.

As our Lead Environment Technical Artist, you will take ownership of the entire pipeline end-to-end, transforming concept designs into fully realised, optimised environments within Unreal Engine 5. This is not a traditional environment lead role. Our environment setup spans traditional engine-only games and virtual production.

This role combines artistic mastery with deep technical expertise, ensuring every texture, asset, and lighting setup enhances gameplay immersion while meeting high-performance standards. You’ll lead a small team of artists, working closely with developers to optimise environments and transition from stock assets to fully custom 3D creations.

What will you do?

Development & Direction

• Collaborate with the Creative Director, Art team, UE developers, and Virtual Production teams across all projects.
• Own the full environment art pipeline—from concept interpretation to real-time engine integration.
• Lead a small team of artists, providing feedback, mentorship, and career growth, while partnering on future hiring decisions.
• Oversee multiple concurrent environment productions across internal IP and licensed external collaborations.
• Drive sprint-based R&D initiatives, exploring new visual directions and technical workflows.
  
  

Execution & Pipeline

• Translate concept designs into fully realised 3D environments with consistent visual language and narrative tone.
• Transition scenes from placeholder assets to bespoke custom-built 3D content across a range of styles.
• Create and maintain documentation, technical guides, and visual standards to support environment development and onboarding.
• Own your workload: schedule tasks, manage deadlines, and proactively share progress with teams.
  
  

Technical Implementation & Optimization

• Collaborate with UE developers and Virtual Production teams to optimise environments for 24/7 real-time streaming performance.
• Utilise UE5 features (Lumen, Nanite, Blueprints) to enhance lighting, texture fidelity, and environmental interactivity.
• Leverage DSS tools and UE profiling systems to analyse performance bottlenecks and implement solutions.
• Execute core technical art skills: modelling, UVs, material authoring, lighting setup, and scene assembly.
• Where applicable, apply or extend C++ to optimise environment systems, enable dynamic elements, and support broadcast triggers.
  
  

What are we looking for?

• Lead or Senior Environment / Tech-Art with a proven track record in game development, demonstrating ownership of shipped AAA titles.
• Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 (Lumen, Nanite, Blueprints, foliage, level streaming, perf tools).
• Diverse portfolio showcasing various art styles, demonstrating artistic adaptability.
• Mastery in 3D modelling, texturing, UV mapping, lighting and scene composition.
• Proven team-led experience: sprint planning, mentoring, code / art review culture.
• Experienced in real-time optimisation for streamed or broadcast environments, including frame-budget awareness and memory constraints.
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally with developers, artists and technical teams.
  
  

Qualifications:

• Must provide a broad professional portfolio showcasing a diverse range of projects.
• Full scene breakdowns (greybox to final)
• Optimisation proof (stat screenshots, heatmaps, before/after comparisons)
• Tool or workflow demonstrations (e.g. Houdini generators, custom Blueprints)
• Virtual production examples (if available)
• No formal degree required, but practical experience is essential.
• Past leadership in environment pipeline development or technical art teams is highly regarded.

What additional skills will help you standout?

• Familiar with virtual production and motion capture workflows, due to creative and R&D cross-collaboration with these departments.
• Experience in stylised art directions including cel-shaded or anime-inspired rendering.
• Comfortable working with or extending C++ code for tools or runtime systems.
• Expertise in game industry standard DCC tools like Substance Painter, SpeedTree, Zbrush, Maya, Blender, or Houdini.
  
  

Why will you love working with our client?

• Salary: Depending on experience $100,000 - $120,000 AUD pa.
• Competitive premium relocation package.
• Enjoy free lunches Monday – Friday at Prahran office.
• Mental well-being program that includes 4 free counselling sessions, unlimited access to text, video and audio resources, regular check-ins and feedback opportunities.
• Annual leave of 20 working days.
• Additional leave requests for personal, community service, long service and public holidays, including religious holidays.
• Industry-leading parental leave, up to 22 weeks plus: 10 additional days or 2 weeks top up payment for secondary caregivers 20 additional days or 4 weeks top up payment for primary caregivers
• Pet friendly workspace – bring your furry friend to work!
• Balanced lifestyle working hybrid model (up to 2 days per week working remote).
• Unlimited snacks and drinks available 24/7 at offices.
• Top-tier tech setup with your choice of high-end PC/Mac, dual monitors, ergonomic gear and full software pipeline plus custom R&D tools.
  
  

Apply now and let’s pioneer a new era of online entertainment!

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

• Industries

  Computer Games

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