Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist

Lighthouse Games; Royal Leamington Spa; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 Days Holiday + birthday day

Studio Shutdown between Christmas and

Discretionary Bonus Scheme

Private Pension Scheme

Private Healthcare

Health and Well-Being Benefits

Dental Care

Optical treatments

Mental Health Support

Job summary

Lighthouse Games in Leamington Spa is seeking a Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist to lead material and shader quality across 3D assets. You will define standards, develop Unreal Master Materials, and collaborate with art leadership to balance realism with performance for a real-time AAA production.

You will guide other artists, optimise shader content and establish scalable pipelines in a hybrid working environment at a top-tier studio.

Qualifications

• Extensive senior or principal-level experience developing, implementing and optimising real-time materials and shaders in Unreal Engine.
• Strong understanding of Material Editor, Master Materials and shader architecture.
• Experience with PBR workflows, lighting and texture authoring; can guide other artists.

Responsibilities

• Define and champion the quality bar for materials and shaders.
• Design, develop and maintain Unreal Master Materials and material functions.
• Create benchmark PBR materials and balance realism, flexibility and performance.
• Establish scalable material pipelines and mentor artists on best practices.

Skills

Unreal Engine shader

PBR workflows

Shader optimization

Technical direction

Tools

Substance Designer

Substance Painter

HLSL

Job description

Lighthouse Games is a new AAA studio in Leamington Spa. We are defined by our pedigree of talent and serious ambition to build a new best-in-class game. When you join us at Lighthouse, you’ll create the best work of your career within a collaborative, hybrid working environment. You’ll learn from the best and work alongside the future greats of the gaming industry.

As a Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist, you will lead the quality, direction and technical standards of material and shader creation across all types of 3D artwork. Combining a strong artistic eye with deep technical expertise, you will create scalable material systems and workflows that deliver visually compelling content within the performance requirements of a real-time AAA production.

Key Duties Include

• Define and champion the technical and artistic quality bar for materials and shaders.
• Design, develop and maintain complex Unreal Engine Master Materials, shader systems and reusable material functions.
• Create benchmark-quality PBR materials and work with Art Leadership, Artists, Technical Artists and Render Engineers to balance realism, flexibility and performance.
• Establish scalable material pipelines, profile and optimise shader content, and support other artists through guidance and best practices.

Requirements

• Extensive senior or principal-level experience developing, implementing and optimising complex real-time materials and shaders in Unreal Engine.
• Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine’s Material Editor, including Master Materials, material functions, parameterisation, layered materials and scalable shader architecture.
• Deep understanding of real-time rendering, PBR workflows, lighting, texture authoring and shader performance.
• Advanced proficiency with tools such as Substance Designer and Substance Painter, supported by a strong portfolio and the ability to provide technical direction to other artists.

Desirable

• Experience with HLSL, custom shader code, procedural material techniques, scripting or automation.
• Knowledge of photogrammetry, photography, scanning or physically accurate material capture.

Benefits

• 25 Days Holiday, plus 1 day for your birthday
• Studio Shutdown between Christmas and New Year
• Discretionary Bonus Scheme
• Private Pension Scheme
• Private Healthcare
• Health and Well-Being Benefits
• Dental Care
• Optical treatments
• Mental Health Support