Senior Shader Technical Artist

2K; San Mateo (CA); Hybrid; USD 113,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid holidays

Vacation days

Sick days

Parental leave

Wellbeing programs

Commuter benefits

Fitness reimbursements

Job summary

2K is seeking a Senior Shader Technical Artist in California to lead the shader pipeline across disciplines. You will craft and optimize shaders in Unreal Engine, write clean HLSL/GLSL, and help define standards that balance beauty and performance.

Collaborate with Art, Engineering, Design, Lighting, and more to push real-time rendering boundaries while ensuring workflows scale for teams. This role blends artistry with technical depth in a dynamic studio.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Technical Art role or at least one shipped title.
• Proficient in stylized and PBR shaders using node-based editors, shader networks, procedural texturing, and HLSL code.
• Strong understanding of textures and shaders in a physically-based rendering pipeline.
• Able to communicate and collaborate across disciplines and share ideas.

Responsibilities

• Craft and optimize shader/master materials in Unreal Engine using node-based graphs and HLSL/GLSL/CG.
• Collaborate with teams to uphold artistic and technical shader standards under performance constraints.
• Develop innovative approaches, shaders, shading validation tools, and standards.
• Profile performance, identify bottlenecks, and optimize shaders for visual fidelity and frame rate.
• Demonstrate ownership and push for pipeline efficiency with minimal oversight.
• Create docs, examples, and reusable best practices for distributed teams and naming conventions.
• Work with Art, Engineering, Design, Lighting, and other disciplines to solve cross-discipline issues.
• Assess workflows to identify risks and bottlenecks before they become problems.

Skills

Unreal Engine

HLSL/GLSL/CG

Shader Graph

Shader Optimization

Cross-Discipline

Documentation

Asset Pipeline

Tools

Unreal Engine

Substance Designer

Substance Painter

Photoshop

Job description

We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games. We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.

What We Need:

We’re seeking a Senior Shader Technical Artist to leverage their technical skills and artistic understanding to help develop and maintain a strong shader pipeline that will serve teams across multiple disciplines. Your passion, knowledge, and experience will be integral to the look and style of a new generation of player-driven experiences, stemming from your ability to create high-quality shaders and technology that bring life to the worlds we build.

What You’ll Do:

• Utilize extensive experience in Unreal Engine to meticulously craft and optimize shader/master materials using Unreal Engine’s node-based shader graph and HLSL/GLSL/CG shader code, ensuring they are built cleanly and efficiently for seamless integration and user-friendly utilization by the materials team.
• Collaborate with development teams to establish and uphold artistic and technical shader standards, pushing the boundaries of real-time rendering while adhering to performance constraints.
• Drive the development of innovative approaches to address complex technical and creative challenges, participating in the creation of shaders, shading validation tools, and defining shading standards.
• Provide technical support in identifying and resolving inefficient content pipelines, conducting performance profiling, and optimizing shaders to enhance overall visual fidelity and maintain desired frame rates.
• Demonstrate a strong sense of ownership and autonomy in task execution, producing high-quality work with minimal oversight, and actively seeking opportunities to enhance pipeline efficiency and visual quality.
• Create documentation, examples, and reusable best practices for distributed development teams, establishing and maintaining practical standards for assets, materials, textures, meshes, LODs, collision, naming, and project organization.
• Work with Art, Engineering, Design, Animation, Lighting, and other disciplines to solve cross-discipline production problems.
• Evaluate workflows and identify technical risks or production bottlenecks before they become larger problems.

What Will Make You a Great Fit:

• 7+ years of experience or at least one shipped title in a Technical Art role, with proficiency in creating stylized and PBR shaders using node-based shader editors, tiled layered material systems, shader networks, procedural texturing, and HLSL code.
• Strong understanding of the technical foundations behind visually stunning textures and shaders in a physically-based rendering pipeline.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate across disciplines, sharing ideas and articulating visions.
• Familiarity with all the tools, techniques, and asset creation pipelines: UE5, Substance Designer, Substance Painter, Photoshop, modeling, baking, and texturing.

Bonus:

• Experience in Unreal Engine’s node-based shader graph.
• Strong understanding of console, PC, and mobile platforms, and how to scale shaders to optimize for each.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $112,700 and $164,860 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefi ts at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefi ts; and reimbursements for fi tness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artifi cial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

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As part of 2K’s commitment to maintaining a workplace culture of inclusion and respect, we aim to find opportunities to improve our diversity and inclusion practices and resources. We hope that you will help us achieve this goal by voluntarily disclosing your demographic information.

Whether you choose to disclose this information is entirely your decision. You will not be treated any differently based on your choice.

Finally, as a reminder, 2K is an equal employment opportunity employer. 2K does not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against individuals based on any protected characteristic. If you have any questions about this policy, please connect with [e-mail] for support.

As part of 2K’s hiring process, 2K will conduct a pre-employment background check. We may also require written verification from your current employer that you have ended your employment.