Senior Technical Artist (UE5)

Game Companies; Burnaby; Hybrid; CAD 113,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus and RRSP matching

Comprehensive health benefits

Flexible hybrid work arrangements

Three weeks vacation

SkyBox University & Guild Program

Employee social events

Job summary

SkyBox Labs in Burnaby, BC is seeking a Senior Technical Artist to join a hybrid team on an ambitious AAA co-development project. You will help establish the technical foundations, worldbuilding workflows, and real-time optimization strategies for large UE5 environments.

With deep UE5, Houdini, and PCG expertise, you will define modern procedural pipelines, optimize performance, and build editor tooling that accelerates art and level design.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional game development experience in Technical Art or Environment Art.
• Deep hands-on expertise with Unreal Engine 5, Houdini, and Unreal's PCG framework.
• Open world optimization experience for UE5 environments.
• Editor tooling experience within Unreal Engine.
• Excellent communication and ability to guide artists across teams.
• Self-motivated and autonomous in open-ended challenges.
• Strong eye for visual quality and art direction.

Responsibilities

• Real-time performance optimization for large open-world UE5 environments.
• Worldbuilding & Procedural Pipelines: design and support PCG/Blueprint/Houdini pipelines for open-world environments.
• Editor Tooling & Artist Efficiency: develop Unreal editor tools to speed up level art workflows.
• Cross-Discipline Collaboration: provide technical guidance and set standards across art and engine teams.
• Proactive Problem-Solving: tackle high-level design challenges and deliver robust technical solutions.

Skills

Technical Art

Environment Art

Unreal Engine 5

Houdini

PCG

Open World Optimization

Editor Tooling

Automation

Communication

Tools

Unreal Engine 5

Houdini

Blueprints

Python

Job description

Game Development

5+ years

3D Art

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 to join our team on an ambitious AAA co-development project set within a highly anticipated universe.

Working in close collaboration with our partner studio, you’ll play a pivotal role in establishing the technical foundations, worldbuilding workflows, and real-time optimization strategies for large-scale UE5 environments. You will be responsible for defining modern procedural pipelines, optimizing open-world performance, and crafting custom editor tooling that empowers our art and level design teams to iterate efficiently.

Using your deep knowledge of Unreal Engine 5, Houdini, and PCG, you'll tackle complex technical challenges on an active codebase. This role is ideal for an experienced, proactive technical artist who excels in an autonomous environment: you thrive when taking high-level, open-ended requirements, communicating proactively across disciplines to resolve ambiguity, and guiding artists with practical, high-impact technical solutions.

This team works in a hybrid capacity, with three days a week at our studio in Burnaby, BC.

A Snapshot Of Your Role

• Real-Time Performance & Optimization: Establish and enforce content creation best practices for large open-world environments in UE5; perform real-time profiling, diagnose bottlenecks, and drive optimization solutions across geometry, materials, and streaming.
• Worldbuilding & Procedural Pipelines: Design, build, and support high-level procedural systems (PCG, Blueprints, Houdini) for open-world environment creation, including terrain workflows, road/spline tools, and automated asset placement systems.
• Editor Tooling & Artist Efficiency: Develop custom Unreal Engine editor tools, utility widgets, actor workflows, and workflow automations that maximize iteration speed and team efficiency for level artists and environment teams.
• Cross-Discipline Collaboration & Guidance: Act as a technical guide and force multiplier for the art team—providing clear documentation, establishing standards, and offering day-to-day technical direction to bridge artistic goals with engine performance limits.
• Proactive Problem-Solving & Communication: Navigate high-level design concepts and incomplete specs with autonomy—taking ownership to investigate technical paths, communicate proactively across disciplines to resolve ambiguity, and deliver robust technical solutions.

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

• Relevant Experience: 7+ years of professional game development experience in Technical Art or Environment Art (with a heavy focus on technical workflows, environment pipelines, and performance optimization), including at least one shipped major AAA title.
• Deep UE5 & Procedural Mastery: Deep hands-on expertise with Unreal Engine 5, Houdini, and Unreal's Procedural Content Generation (PCG) framework.
• Open World Optimization: Proven track record of optimizing complex UE5 environments and implementing content pipelines that balance high visual fidelity with strict runtime performance targets.
• Editor Tooling & Automation: Strong experience developing editor utility tools, custom editor interfaces, and automated workflows within Unreal Engine.
• Strong Social & Communication Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with a natural ability to guide artists, convey complex technical concepts clearly, and act as an informal technical lead across teams.
• Self-Motivated & Autonomous Mindset: Comfort operating in an environment where solutions aren't spoon-fed. You enjoy tackling high-level, open-ended challenges and driving them to completion.
• Artistic Eye: A strong eye for visual quality and aesthetics, ensuring technical optimizations and automations never compromise the artistic vision.

Nice-to-Haves

• Scripting & Shading Foundations: Strong programming/scripting foundations in Blueprints, Python, HLSL, or C++.
• Broad Tech Art Experience: Technical experience across adjacent disciplines, such as graphics/lighting, character pipelines, animation systems, or VFX.

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 $113,000 to $155,000. 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/