Lead Technical Artist

Epic Games; New York (NY); On-site; USD 235,000 - 345,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Job summary

Epic Games is seeking a Lead Technical Artist to guide a team of Technical Artists in delivering visually compelling and performant game worlds. You will translate project goals into practical tools, workflows, and technical solutions, working closely with Art, Engineering, and Design.

This hands-on leadership role emphasizes day-to-day execution, mentorship, and solving production challenges. You will help establish technical art direction, optimize pipelines, and mentor artists to achieve

Qualifications

• Experience shipping and supporting a live-service game.
• Strong leadership or mentoring experience for Technical Artists.
• Practical knowledge of real-time rendering, profiling, content optimization, and performance budgets.

Responsibilities

• Profile game content and resolve performance bottlenecks.
• Optimize geometry, materials, shaders, textures, lighting, foliage, and VFX.
• Lead a small Technical Art team and coordinate with Production and technical leadership.
• Document tools and workflows and train artists on approved workflows.
• Mentor team members and balance contributions with delegation.

Skills

Live-service game experience

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Real-time rendering

Profiling

Content optimization

World-building pipelines

Content streaming

Scripting/programming

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Houdini

Maya

Blender

Python

C#

C++

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?

At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.

Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.

ART

What We Do

Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.

What You'll Do

We're looking for a Lead Technical Artist to guide a team of Technical Artists in building visually compelling, performant game worlds as part of our collaboration with Disney. Working closely with Art, Engineering, and Design, you'll translate project goals into practical tools, workflows, and technical solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role focused on day-to-day execution, team mentorship, and solving production challenges. You'll help deliver the studio's technical art direction.

In this role, you will

• Profile game content and resolve performance bottlenecks in collaboration with Art and Engineering
• Optimize geometry, materials, shaders, textures, lighting, foliage, and VFX to meet established performance and memory budgets
• Help artists apply best practices for LODS, instancing, streaming, and content scalability across target platforms
• Conduct content reviews and develop validation tools to identify technical issues early
• Develop and maintain tools that support efficient environment creation, including terrain, foliage, procedural generation, and asset placement
• Partner with Environment Art and Level Design to improve world-building workflows and troubleshoot production issues
• Implement established standards for modular assets, materials, and content organization
• Document tools and workflows, helping artists adopt them effectively
• Lead the day-to-day work of a small Technical Art team, coordinating priorities and deliverables with Production and technical leadership
• Mentor Technical Artists through feedback, technical reviews, and hands-on problem-solving
• Balance individual contributions with delegation, giving team members clear ownership and opportunities to grow
• Communicate progress, dependencies, and technical risks to project leadership
• Coordinate Initiatives with Tech Art Leads on other projects working in the same development environment
• Help establish practical usage guidelines and train artists on approved workflows, following studio policies for intellectual property, licensing, and data security
• Evaluate results against quality and efficiency goals, recommending which workflows to refine or expand

What we're looking for

• Experience shipping and supporting a live-service game
• Strong professional experience in technical art for games, including contributions to a shipped title or comparably complex production
• Experience leading or mentoring Technical Artists and coordinating technical work across disciplines
• Practical knowledge of real-time rendering, profiling, content optimization, and performance budgets
• Experience with world-building pipelines, procedural workflows, LOD systems, and content streaming
• Proficiency with Unreal Engine, Unity, or a proprietary game engine
• Scripting or programming experience for tool development, using languages such as Python, C#, or C++
• Familiarity with shader and material development, alongside tools such as Houdini, Maya, or Blender
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and prioritization skills, with an appreciation for artistic quality

This role is open to multiple locations across the US (including CA, NYC, & WA).

Pay Transparency Information

The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position are detailed below. Each base pay range is relevant only for individuals who are residents of or will be expected to work within the specified locale. Compensation varies based on a variety of factors, which include (but aren’t limited to) things such as skills and competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. In addition to base pay, most employees are eligible to participate in Epic’s generous benefit plans and discretionary incentive programs (subject to the terms of those plans or programs).

New York City Base Pay Range$235,042—$344,728 USDCalifornia Base Pay Range$215,456—$316,001 USDWashington Base Pay Range$195,869—$287,274 USD

ABOUT US

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.

Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.