Lighting Artist [Contract] (Retro Studios)

Nintendo of America Inc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 41,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid weekly

Health care benefits available

Paid time-off provided

Paid holidays observed

Access to Nintendo discounts

Job summary

Retro Studios in Austin, TX is seeking a lighting artist for an onsite contract to shape mood and visuals across levels, ensuring color, exposure, and composition align with art direction.

The role requires experience lighting game levels, strong grasp of PBR, and proficiency with real-time engines such as Unreal or Unity. Collaboration with art and design teams is essential. Experience with Arnold, Renderman, or other high-end renderers is a plus.

Qualifications

• Experience lighting levels for games and matching art direction.
• Strong eye for color, value, and composition through lighting.
• Solid understanding of real-time rendering and PBR workflows.
• Ability to work with Unreal/Unity and other renderers.
• Self-motivated, organized, and able to meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Creates mood through lighting of levels and cinematics aligned with art direction.
• Establishes color palettes, value structures, and compositions through lighting.
• Adjusts post effects for level lighting (exposure, color grading, fog, bloom).
• Collaborates with level art and design to achieve goals.
• Maintains visual continuity and performance across the game.

Skills

Color theory

Lighting for games

PBR rendering knowledge

Real-time engine experience

Artistic problem solving

Team collaboration

Renderer expertise

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Frostbite

Arnold

RenderMan

V-Ray

Octane

Mitsuba

Job description

THIS IS AN ONSITE CONTRACT POSITION – Austin, TX

Position includes:

• Paid weekly
• Health care benefits available
• Paid time-off provided
• Paid holidays observed
• Access to Nintendo discounts

RETRO STUDIOS:

Founded in 1998, Retro Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd., and a powerhouse in game development. Working hand-in-hand with Nintendo, we craft award-winning titles for the company's cutting-edge platforms, blending innovation, artistry, and gameplay excellence.

Our home base is Austin, Texas, a vibrant city known for its creative energy, live music, stunning natural scenery, and forward-thinking culture. With year-round sunshine and endless options for outdoor adventures, Austin offers the perfect backdrop for world-class developers to stay inspired, balanced, and at the top of their game.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:

• Creates mood through lighting of levels and cinematics that is consistent with art direction and gameplay needs.
• Establishes strong color palettes, value structures and compositions through lighting.
• Adjusts post effects for level including exposure, color grading, fog, bloom, etc.
• Communicates with level art and design to ensure lighting is achieving art and gameplay goals.
• Maintain visual continuity and performance throughout the game.
• Provide timely and clear feedback to external partners on the lighting of levels.

This job description outlines primary duties and requirements and is not intended to identify all tasks that may be performed; individuals occupying the position may be required to perform other duties. The company may modify job duties from time to time, either in practice or in writing.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS:

• Exceptional eye for color, value and composition expressed through lighting.
• Experience lighting levels for games and dealing with the challenges caused by gameplay requirements.
• Solid understanding of PBR rendering and the interaction between materials and lighting
• Understanding of real-world lighting values and exposure, and how they affect an image.
• Experience using a current generation real-time lighting engine like Unreal, Unity, Frostbite, etc.
• Ability to follow concept/reference and the ability to work within a wide range of styles with minimal direction.
• Is self-motivated and can work through and solve problems.
• Able to manage and organize work in order to meet deadlines.
• Interested in the study and expression of light through photography or painting is a plus.
• Experience using an industry standard renderer like Arnold, Renderman, V-ray, Octane, Mitsuba, etc. is a plus.

Retro Studios is an equal opportunity employer. We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, the diverse consumers we represent, and the communities we call home. We do all of this with kindness, empathy, and respect for each other.