Senior Level Artist - Remote Unreal World Builder

Side; Charleston (SC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Dynamic, multicultural environment

World-leading game services provider

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Side is seeking a Senior Level Artist to own game spaces from blockout through polish, balancing gameplay layout with world building using a library of pre-generated assets.

This remote freelance contract runs for approximately 3–6 months, with up to 40 hours per week and overlap with the CEST team. Location is flexible. You will work across Unreal Engine, PCG, Houdini, and Blueprints to deliver cohesive environments that support gameplay while meeting performance targets.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in level design, level art, or world building.
• Portfolio showing in-engine environments with player perspective.
• Strong Unreal Engine experience owning gameplay layout and visuals.
• Experience optimizing streaming, HLODs, draw calls, and memory budgets.
• Ability to work independently from blockout to polish.

Responsibilities

• Own spaces from blockout through final polish, balancing gameplay layout with visual composition, staging, lighting, and world-building.
• Create, refine, and integrate pre-generated assets into cohesive, playable game environments.
• Make intentional decisions about player flow, composition, sightlines, and navigation to support the gameplay experience.
• Build and polish environments in Unreal Engine with a strong understanding of composition, lighting, and in-engine presentation.
• Manage streaming, HLODs, draw calls, frame budgets, and memory budgets, personally optimizing spaces to meet performance targets.
• Use Unreal PCG and Houdini to support efficient world-building and asset placement workflows.
• Implement level features, triggers, and interactives using Unreal Blueprints.
• Collaborate with design, art, and engineering teams to ensure spaces support both gameplay and visual goals.
• Take ownership of spaces across multiple stages of development, from initial blockout through a shipped, cancelled, or personal project.

Skills

Level design

World building

Unreal Engine

Gameplay layout

Spatial composition

Independent work

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unreal Blueprints

Unreal PCG

Houdini

Gaea

World Machine

Python scripting

Job description

Side is seeking a Senior Level Artist to own game spaces from blockout through polish, balancing gameplay layout with world building using a library of pre-generated assets.

This remote freelance contract runs for approximately 3–6 months, with up to 40 hours per week and overlap with the CEST team. Location is flexible. You will work across Unreal Engine, PCG, Houdini, and Blueprints to deliver cohesive environments that support gameplay while meeting performance targets.