Senior Technical Artist (Environments)

SkyBox Labs; Burnaby; Hybrid; CAD 102,000 - 142,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

RRSP matching

Hybrid working arrangements

Gym access

Vacation leave & parental leave

Job summary

SkyBox Labs seeks a Senior Technical Artist focused on large-scale worldbuilding and open-world optimization in UE5 to join a AAA co-development project in Burnaby, BC. You will help build worldbuilding systems, procedural workflows, and optimization strategies for expansive environments, collaborating with artists and engineers to deliver high visual quality and performance.

The role is hybrid, with three days per week in the office, and offers growth opportunities through SkyBox University,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional game development experience in technical art or environment art.
• Unreal Engine 5 expertise with World Partition, streaming, virtual textures, and open world workflows.
• Strong practical experience using Blueprints to build worldbuilding utilities, editor tools, and placement mechanics.
• Open-world optimization experience balancing heavy visual density with performance targets.
• Editor tooling and automation experience to improve team efficiency.
• Excellent communication and collaboration across disciplines to guide artists and explain technical concepts.
• Independent problem-solving with a proactive approach to open-ended challenges.
• Artistic eye balancing technical needs with visual quality.

Responsibilities

• Profile and optimize large-scale UE5 environments and identify performance bottlenecks across geometry, materials, and asset streaming.
• Develop and support tools/workflows for open-world population and environment generation (terrain, roads, spline-based systems, automated placement).
• Build custom Unreal Engine editor tools and automated workflows for environment artists and level designers.
• Collaborate with artists, level designers, and engineers to establish best practices and document workflows.
• Own open-ended technical challenges and balance artistic goals with technical requirements.

Skills

Technical art

Environment art

Open-world optimization

Unreal Engine 5

Blueprints

Editor tooling

Collaboration

Tools

Unreal Engine 5

Houdini-to-Unreal workflows

Python

Job description

Who is SkyBox Labs?

Recognized as one of BC's Top Employers (2025) , SkyBox Labs is a game development studio that works on some of the world’s most iconic games. The studio is currently working on projects in the Minecraft universe, supporting the dev team at Bungie on Destiny 2, supporting development of Fallout 76, in addition to work on unannounced IP. Since our inception in 2011, SkyBox Labs has evolved from a small team of eight individuals to a fully established team of Engineers, Artists, Animators, Designers, Producers, and more.Come join our hybrid team in our Burnaby, BC studio today!

PLEASE NOTE: At this time, we are only able to hire candidates who are legally eligible to work in Canada and reside within Canada.

Interested? Let’s talk about what we’re hiring for:

SkyBox Labs is looking for a Senior Technical Artist with a focus on large-scale worldbuilding and open-world optimization in UE5 to join our team on an ambitious AAA co-development project set within a highly anticipated universe. Working closely with our partner studio, you’ll help build and improve the worldbuilding systems, procedural workflows, and optimization strategies used to populate and run expansive open-world environments in Unreal Engine 5. You’ll support procedural worldbuilding, develop custom editor tools, and help ensure environments meet visual quality and performance targets. We’re looking for an experienced, proactive technical artist who enjoys solving complex problems, improving open-world creation methods, and collaborating with artists and engineers to turn creative goals into practical technical solutions.

This is a hybrid role based at our Burnaby, BC studio, with three days per week in the office.

A snapshot of your role:

• Environment Performance & Optimization: Profile and optimize large-scale UE5 environments, identifying performance bottlenecks across geometry, materials, and asset streaming.
• Worldbuilding & Procedural Workflows: Develop and support tools and workflows for open-world population and environment generation, including terrain, roads, spline-based systems, and automated asset placement.
• Tools & Automation: Build custom Unreal Engine editor tools and automated workflows to help environment artists and level designers work more efficiently.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Work closely with artists, level designers, and engineers to establish best practices, document workflows, and help solve technical challenges.
• Problem-Solving & Ownership: Take ownership of open-ended challenges, communicate proactively across disciplines, and develop solutions that balance artistic goals with technical requirements.

Sound like you? This is what we're looking for:

• 7+ years of professional game development experience in technical art or environment art, with a strong focus on technical workflows, open worlds, or performance optimization, including at least one shipped AAA title.
• Unreal Engine Expertise: Strong hands‑on experience with Unreal Engine 5 and a solid understanding of World Partition, streaming, virtual textures, and open world workflows.
• Visual Scripting Foundations: Strong practical experience using Blueprints to build worldbuilding utilities, editor tools, and placement mechanics.
• Open-World Optimization: Experience optimizing complex open-world game environments and building workflows that balance heavy visual density with performance targets.
• Editor Tooling & Automation: Experience developing Unreal Engine editor tools, custom interfaces, or automated workflows to improve team efficiency.
• Communication & Collaboration: Strong communication skills and the ability to guide artists, explain technical concepts, and work effectively across disciplines.
• Independent Problem-Solving: A proactive, self‑motivated approach to tackling open-ended challenges and driving solutions forward with minimal direction.
• Artistic Eye: A strong eye for visual quality, with the ability to balance technical requirements and optimization with the overall artistic vision.

Nice-to-have:

• Procedural World Generation & Scripting: Hands‑on familiarity with Unreal Engine's Procedural Content Generation (PCG) framework, Houdini-to-Unreal world workflows, or Python.

And here is why we think you'll love working at SkyBox:

• Annual bonus and up to 3% RRSP matchingavailable
• Comprehensive health benefits, along with a supportive Maternity and Parental Leave policy
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements: leverage our beautiful studio spaces as needed and have the ability to work from home on certain projects
• Take care of your mental health with our Employee Assistance Program, 3 weeks of vacation leave, and our free gym at our Burnaby Studio
• We relentlessly support your growth and development! Level up your C++ skills at SkyBox University, explore other disciplines through our Guild Program, and expand your game dev knowledge with Lunch & Learns. You’ll join a culture of empowerment, collaboration, and personal growth.
• Social events! Have fun with the team at trivia nights, karaoke nights, movie nights, and various group activities. Join our soccer team, game jams, or a board game sesh after work. You name it, we’ve got it!
• Get involved with our diverse community through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that champion Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives and promote a supportive environment
• You’ll contribute to industry-leading titles!

The base salary range for this position is $102,000 to $142,000. The stated pay scale reflects the range that SkyBox Labs reasonably expects to pay for this position. Your base salary and level will be determined by various factors including, but not limited to, qualifications, skills, experience, and demonstrated competencies.

Our commitment to you:

SkyBox Labs is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to developing and maintaining a diverse workforce. You’ll join a collaborative, inclusive culture where we succeed together, and like-minded people work naturally together to achieve great things (and games!).

Only candidates who reside in Canada or are willing to relocate will be considered for this role. Additionally, although we appreciate all interest, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Learn more about us at https://skyboxlabs.com/

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.