VFX & Cinematic Artist — Real-Time Mobile RTS

First Fun; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

First Fun in Santa Clara is seeking a unique VFX & Cinematic Artist to own real-time gameplay VFX for our Unity-based mobile RTS and high-impact cinematic marketing content that drives user acquisition.

You will ship in-game effects, craft shaders, optimize for mobile, and produce promotional videos from storyboard to final cut, collaborating with Art Director to ensure a unified visual identity.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of combined experience across cinematic/trailer production and in-game VFX.
• Strong fundamentals in real-time game engines and in-engine cinematic tools (Unreal, Unity).
• Solid understanding of shader and material authoring using Shader Graph, Amplify Shader Editor, HLSL, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of mobile rendering performance and optimization.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement in-game real-time VFX for combat, spell effects, destruction, weather, and ambience.
• Craft shaders and materials for effects (dissolves, distortion, energy) with performance awareness.
• Optimize effects for mobile performance without sacrificing visual quality.
• Produce short game promo ads end-to-end from storyboard/previz to final delivery, including blocking, lighting, rendering, and handoff.
• Collaborate with Art Director to iterate on promotional creatives based on performance metrics and maintain a coherent visual identity across in-game and marketing content.
• Lead AI-assisted workflows to speed up previz, variant exploration, and asset cleanup while maintaining craftsmanship.

Skills

VFX design

Cinematic storytelling

Real-time rendering

Creative collaboration

AI-assisted workflows

Tools

Unity

Unreal

Blender

Maya

After Effects

Premiere

DaVinci Resolve

Shader Graph

Amplify Shader Editor

HLSL

EmberGen

Substance Designer

Job description

First Fun in Santa Clara is seeking a unique VFX & Cinematic Artist to own real-time gameplay VFX for our Unity-based mobile RTS and high-impact cinematic marketing content that drives user acquisition.

You will ship in-game effects, craft shaders, optimize for mobile, and produce promotional videos from storyboard to final cut, collaborating with Art Director to ensure a unified visual identity.