Senior Technical Artist - Vic/SA/Qld

Keywords Studios Australia; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Keywords Studios in Australia seeks a Senior Technical Artist to bridge art and engineering, developing internal tools, shaders, and workflows to meet visual quality within performance budgets.

You will strengthen the art pipeline, collaborate with teams across Maya/Blender/Substance and game engines, and mentor mid-level and junior artists while documenting technical standards.

Qualifications

• Approximately 5–7 years of professional games industry experience.
• Solid understanding of the art pipeline and animation content creation.
• Skills across shader development, VFX, pipeline tooling, and real-time physics.
• Scripting and coding proficiency in one or more core languages.
• Hands-on experience with modern game engines.
• Strong knowledge in at least one DCC package and related tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement and maintain in-engine materials, shaders, and lighting while respecting budgets.
• Lead tool development and pipeline improvements to boost team productivity.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Art to maintain data flow and technical integrity.
• Provide technical support and mentor artists, documenting best practices.

Skills

Shader development

VFX / Particles

Pipeline tooling

Real-time physics

Scripting / Coding

Game engine

DCC packages

Tools

Maya

Blender

Substance suite

Houdini

EmberGen

After Effects

Maya API

Job description

The role of Senior Technical Artist drives the efficiency of the art production pipeline, acting as the critical bridge between the creative vision of the Art team and the technical constraints of Engineering. This role is responsible for developing internal tools and workflows, creating and optimising complex materials and shaders, and ensuring content meets high visual quality while maintaining performance budgets. The ideal candidate is technically proficient, possesses strong problem-solving and communication skills, and works proactively to research, implement, and document technical solutions across the entire development team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

OWNERSHIP & RENDERING

• Design, implement and maintain complex in-engine materials, shaders, and lighting setups to achieve the game's aesthetic goals while strictly adhering to rendering budgets.
• Establish and enforce technical specifications for all art content, personally overseeing the integration, performance profiling and validation of assets across the entire project.
• Proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks related to geometry, draw calls and lighting to ensure the project maintains high frame rates and stability on target platforms.
• Assist the Art team with asset creation or technical implementation in various domains (e.g., character setup, lighting, environment) outside your immediate area of expertise when needed.

PIPELINE ENGINEERING & OPTIMISATION

• Develop, iterate on, and maintain robust tools, scripts, and processes that streamline content authoring within DCC packages and the game engine, with an emphasis on improving team productivity and user experience.
• Lead the advancement of the art production pipeline, ensuring smooth and stable data flow and technical integrity between all relevant software (e.g., Maya, Blender, Substance) and the game engine.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering and other Technical Artists to maintain and continuously improve shared project and studio tools, code libraries, and established workflows.

CROSS-DISCIPLINE COLLABORATION

• Act as the primary technical liaison between the Art, Design, and Engineering teams, translating artistic requirements into technical specifications and engineering limitations into actionable art goals.
• Serve as the go-to for the Art and Animation teams, providing prompt technical support, troubleshooting complex bugs, and resolving pipeline blockages.
• Actively share learnings, best practices, and new tools across the studio, mentoring mid-level and junior artists on efficient and technically sound production methods.

DOCUMENTATION & RESEARCH

• Create and maintain clear, up-to-date technical documentation on all tools, workflows, best practices and established art specifications.
• Proactively identify technical debt and potential future production risks, proposing, testing and documenting long-term technical solutions.
• Maintain an active awareness of emerging technologies, engine updates, and industry trends to ensure the studio's technical art practices remain competitive and efficient.

• Approximately 5-7 years of professional experience in the games industry.
• Strong foundational knowledge of the art pipeline, an artistic eye and practical experience in art and animation content creation.
• Demonstrated skills and interest across multiple technical domains: Shader development, VFX / Particles, Pipeline and tool development, and Real-time physics simulations.
• Proven proficiency in scripting and coding in one or more core languages
• Current, hands-on development experience with modern commercial game engines.
• Strong foundational knowledge in at least one industry DCC package (Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, Adobe Suite) and advanced skills in at least one relevant development package (Houdini, EmberGen, After Effects, or Substance suite).
• Strong attention to detail, excellent time management, problem-solving, and highly effective communication skills.

DESIRABLE SKILLS

• Previous production experience working on the demands and complexities of AAA game development.
• Familiarity with console development, including platforms like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
• Expertise and interest in one or more advanced areas: Character rigging, Procedural asset generation, Lighting, Real-time rendering and post-effects, or asset optimisation and performance profiling.
• Familiarity with specific programming interfaces, such as the Maya API.
• Skills in traditional art, drawing, painting, or photography.

If you'd like to know more about Keywords Studios we recommend visiting our corporate site HERE

Role Information: EN

Studio: Keywords Studios

Location: Asia Pacific, Australia

Area of Work: Art Services

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Working Pattern: Hybrid

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY

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