Senior Technical Artist — Hybrid, Flexible Hours, Pipelines

Keywords Studios; Gateshead; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

22 days holiday + bank holidays

Company Pension Scheme

Flexible Working Hours

Private Medical Insurance - BUPA

Anti-crunch ethos

Free Parking

Company Socials & Annual Events

Breakout Areas with perks

Job summary

d3t, part of Keywords Studios, is seeking a Senior Technical Artist for a 12-month fixed-term contract based in the UK (Daresbury or Newcastle) with hybrid working. The role focuses on building robust art pipelines, developing in-house tools, and ensuring art assets meet performance targets across modern engines.

You will lead technical art efforts, collaborate with artists and engineers, and mentor team members while contributing to a no-crunch, professional studio culture.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of real-time game art pipelines and industry rendering techniques.
• Proficient in Maya and/or 3DS Max and Python.
• Experience with Unreal Engine or Unity and PBR workflow.
• Excellent communication and organisation within a multidisciplinary team.
• Proven leadership or mentoring ability in art roles.
• Ability to create materials/shaders and understanding of memory/graphics constraints.
• Up-to-date with latest game art technologies and practices.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain project art pipelines from inception through completion.
• Support art and animation teams and resolve technical issues.
• Create and integrate in-house tools and materials/shaders.
• Ensure artwork meets memory and frame-rate constraints via profiling.
• Collaborate with artists to optimize performance without sacrificing fidelity.
• Take ownership of specific features when needed and manage Jira progress.
• Mentor and guide other Technical Art team members.

Skills

Maya

3DS Max

Python

Unreal Engine

Unity

Rendering

Tools

Maya API

Photoshop

Substance

Houdini

Job description

d3t, part of Keywords Studios, is seeking a Senior Technical Artist for a 12-month fixed-term contract based in the UK (Daresbury or Newcastle) with hybrid working. The role focuses on building robust art pipelines, developing in-house tools, and ensuring art assets meet performance targets across modern engines.

You will lead technical art efforts, collaborate with artists and engineers, and mentor team members while contributing to a no-crunch, professional studio culture.