Senior Lighting Artist - RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Jagex; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading game development company in Cambridge is seeking a Senior Lighting Artist for the RuneScape: Dragonwilds project. This role involves defining the lighting vision and enhancing gameplay via real-time lighting across various environments and characters. The ideal candidate will have AAA game project experience and proficiency in Unreal Engine. The position offers a Fixed Term Contract with remote work options and competitive benefits.

Benefits

Private Healthcare including Dental Plan

Minimum 6% Pension contributions

Flexible working hours

25 days annual leave + Bank holidays

Qualifications

• Experience lighting AAA or high-quality game projects.
• Portfolio showcasing various environments with real-time lighting.
• Strong understanding of physically based lighting and post-processing.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement lighting according to art direction.
• Establish the game's lighting vision and technical benchmarks.
• Optimize lighting systems for performance across platforms.

Skills

High-quality lighting implementation

Real-time rendering expertise

Communication and collaboration skills

Artistic eye for colour and tone

Tools

Unreal Engine

Similar industry-standard engines

Job description

Location: Cambridge, UK – (Remote available within the UK with team onsite days in the Cambridge office approx. 4 times per year)

This role is a Fixed Term Contract anticipated to end mid-late 2027.

Are you an experienced lighting artist in games who loves working with a versatile set of environments, moods, atmospheres and sources to enhance gameplay and visual storytelling?

As a Senior Lighting Artist on RuneScape: Dragonwilds, our open-world survival crafting game developed in Unreal Engine 5, you’ll take ownership of the lighting vision that defines the look, feel, and emotional tone of the world. You’ll collaborate closely with the Art Director, Tech Art, Environment Art and Engineering teams to build stunning real-time lighting across environments, characters, and cinematics, ensuring a beautiful experience and artistic consistency throughout the game.

This is a highly creative and technically challenging role where you’ll shape tools, workflows and standards that empower the team to deliver on their vision, and provide our players with a game that looks and feels great to play.

What you’ll be doing:

• Define and implement high-quality lighting across environments, scenes, characters, and cinematics in line with the project’s art direction and visual style.
• Establish and maintain the game’s lighting vision, setting artistic and technical benchmarks for the team.
• Prototype and deliver visual targets, ensuring lighting contributes to gameplay readability, emotional tone, and narrative intent.
• Identify and resolve complex visual challenges both technically and artistically, maintaining aesthetic consistency under real-time constraints.
• Balance artistic excellence with performance, optimizing lighting systems to meet platform and engine requirements.
• Serve as a bridge between art and engineering, collaborating to refine rendering features, shaders, and lighting pipelines.
• Drive the development of advanced lighting tools and workflows in partnership with Technical Art and Engineering, improving efficiency and creative flexibility.
• Ensure timely and consistent lighting delivery, aligning work with production milestones and broader visual goals.
• Contribute to lighting-related VFX development, ensuring seamless integration with the overall lighting scheme.
• Mentor and support junior artists, fostering growth and maintaining high standards across the lighting discipline

What we’re looking for:

• A portfolio showcasing high-quality examples of lighting a variety of indoor and outdoor environments running in-engine in real-time.
• Proven experience lighting AAA or high-quality game projects.
• Deep understanding of real-time rendering, physically based lighting, and post-processing.
• Proficiency with Unreal Engine (preferred) or similar industry-standard engines.
• Strong artistic eye for colour, contrast, tone, and composition.
• Excellent communication and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills.
• Demonstrated ability to balance visual impact and performance across multiple platforms.

What we offer:

• Private Healthcare, including Dental Plan.
• Minimum 6% Pension contributions.
• Employee Assistance Programme & onsite Counselling.
• Life Insurance.
• Discretionary annual performance bonus.
• Enhanced family leave policies from day 1.
• Flexible working hours.
• 25 days annual leave + Bank holidays & the option to buy/sell holidays + so much more!

About Jagex:

Jagex is a leader in developing and publishing deep, engaging online games that connect millions of players worldwide. Best known for the RuneScape franchise, which includes two of the world’s longest running and most successful MMORPGs, in Old School RuneScape and RuneScape, and the open-world survival crafting game, RuneScape: Dragonwilds; we have proven success in delivering immersive Forever Games and fostering strong player communities.

We strive to foster an inclusive workplace built on trust, autonomy, and a shared passion for creating forever games.
Our values guide everything we do: We Embrace Fellowship by collaborating and sharing openly. We Hone our Craft by always learning and improving; We Honour our Vows by being honest and transparent; We are our Customers’ Heroes by striving to understand our team & player needs, and We Seize The Day by making the most of every opportunity.

With over two decades of experience, and over 400 people in our team, we continue to innovate in live game development, leveraging data-driven insights, and a commitment to player-first game design. We have a diverse and talented team where creativity, collaboration, and community-driven game development drives everything we do.

As part of Jagex, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a globally successful franchise, contribute to exciting new projects, and be part of a company that hugely values both our employees and our players.