Lead Technical Artist

Torn Banner; Toronto; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

6.5 weeks paid vacation

Employee Stock Options Plan

Flexible schedule and work location,

Healthcare & benefits plan

100% parental leave top-up for 16 wks

Job summary

Torn Banner Studios in Toronto, Canada is seeking a Lead Technical Artist to raise visual quality and production efficiency for our multiplayer titles. You will bridge art and engineering, building pipelines, tools, and workflows that empower content creators while ensuring performance and stability.

As the tech art leader, you will define technical art strategy, mentor staff, and promote best practices across Art, Engineering, Design, and Production.

Qualifications

• 8+ years as Technical Artist in games.
• Experience leading a team.
• Ship at least one AAA or high‑quality title on PC and/or console.
• Experience building tools/pipelines for Unreal Engine, Maya, Houdini or similar.
• Strong knowledge of PBR, linear workflows, shaders, and real‑time rendering.
• Advanced Unreal Engine 5 knowledge (Blueprints, Materials, Niagara, asset management, optimization).
• Proficiency in C++, HLSL, or Python.
• Strong performance profiling and optimization for game engines.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain best practices for asset creation, optimization, and content workflows.
• Develop custom tools, automation systems, and editor extensions within Unreal Engine and DCC apps.
• Serve as primary Tech Art liaison between Art, Engineering, Design, and Production.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement scalable solutions to improve team efficiency and content quality.
• Evaluate new technologies and Unreal Engine features to support project goals.
• Foster a positive, collaborative team culture with accountability and feedback.
• Build relationships across departments to promote collaboration and studio objectives.
• Mentor staff and support artists with technical implementation and optimization.
• Collaborate with rendering and gameplay engineers to improve visuals and workflow.
• Ensure art content is optimized for multiplayer across target platforms.
• Analyze and resolve performance bottlenecks related to rendering, memory, streaming, shaders, and budgets.

Skills

Team leadership

Unreal Engine 5

Shader development

C++ / Python

Performance profiling

PBR / rendering

Tool development

Cross‑disciplinary collaboration

Tools

Unreal Engine

Maya

Houdini

Job description

The Company

Torn Banner Studios is a Toronto, Canada-based independent game development studio founded in 2010. We first made our mark with Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, a multi-million copy selling title that redefined melee combat in gaming. Since then, we’ve continued to grow and innovate, releasing Chivalry 2 and, most recently, No More Room in Hell 2, currently in Early Access. Today, our team of around 100 developers is dedicated to creating unique, challenging, and fun gaming experiences.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Lead Technical Artist to help drive the visual quality, technical excellence, and production efficiency of our multiplayer game projects. Working closely with Art, Engineering, Design, and Production teams, you will act as the critical bridge between artistic vision and technical implementation, developing scalable pipelines, tools, and workflows that empower content creators while ensuring performance, stability, and maintainability.

As the tech art leader, you will help define our technicalart strategy, mentor team members, establish best practices, and champion innovation across the studio.

Note: While this role can be carried out remotely, candidates are required to be current Ontario residents or willing to relocate to Ontario.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain best practices for asset creation, optimization, implementation, and content workflows.
• Develop custom tools, automation systems, and editor extensions within Unreal Engine and DCC applications such as Maya and Houdini.
• Serve as the primary Tech Art liaison between Art, Engineering, Design, and Production teams.
• Identify production bottlenecks and implement scalable solutions to improve team efficiency and content quality.
• Evaluate new technologies, workflows, and Unreal Engine features to support project goals
• Foster a positive, collaborative, and highly engaged team culture while maintaining accountability and continuous feedback.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across departments, breaking down silos and promoting collaboration to achieve studio-wide objectives.
• Champion employee development through mentorship and learning opportunities.
• Support artists with technical implementation, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.
• Collaborate with rendering and gameplay engineers to develop and improve visual features and workflow
• Ensure art content is optimized for multiplayer gameplay across target platforms.
• Analyze and resolve performance bottlenecks related to rendering, memory usage, streaming, shaders, and content budgets.

Requirements

• 8+ years of professional experience as a Technical Artist within the games industry.
• Experience leading a team.
• Experience shipping at least one AAA or high-quality AA title on PC and/or console platforms.
• Experience creating custom tools and pipeline solutions for Unreal Engine, Maya, Houdini, or other DCC applications.
• Strong understanding of Physically Based Rendering (PBR), linear workflows, shader development, and modern real-time rendering techniques.
• Advanced knowledge of Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprints, Materials, Niagara, asset management, and performance optimization workflows.
• Literacy in programming languages preferably C++/HLSL/Python or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of performance profiling and optimization techniques for game engines

Bonus

• Experience shipping multiplayer titles.
• Experience with procedural content generation workflows and Houdini Engine.

Benefits & Perks

• 6.5 weeks paid vacation
• Eligible for Employee Stock Options Plan
• Flexible schedule and work location, with your choice of remote, hybrid, or on-site.
• Healthcare & benefits plan, for you and your family
• 100% parental leave top-up for 16 weeks, for Canadian employees.

To see our team, our office and what we do as a company visit We are Torn Banner Studios .

Torn Banner Studios welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Compensation

• The pay range for this role is $180,000 - 210,000 per year. The range for this role represents candidates across a wide range of skills and experience for the position. Increased salaries may be achievable for those who have achieved mastery and deep industry knowledge over time. Your specific offer will rely on your unique experience and alignment to our team's needs for the position.

Transparency on use of AI and position vacancy

• Our recruitment process does not use artificial intelligence to automatically screen, assess, or select applicants. All decisions on progressing, rejecting, and offering candidates are made by human reviewers.
• One AI–enabled tool that may be used during the interview process is that of interview recording, transcription, and summarizing. Again, this would not make decisions, but simply make reviewing the notes easier. We will always ask for the candidates approval before using such a tool.
• In compliance with Ontario regulations, the advertised posting is for a currently vacant position.