Senior Technical Artist: Pipelines & Shaders (Unity/Unreal)

Placements24; Polokwane; Hybrid; ZAR 800,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Technical Artist for a Polokwane-based game studio. You will bridge art and engineering, optimize assets, and build efficient pipelines for multiplatform games.

You will collaborate with environment and character artists, plus programmers to develop tools, solve technical challenges, and improve workflows. A strong background in engines, shader work, and Python/C# tooling is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field.
• 5+ years as a Technical Artist in games.
• Proficiency in 3D modeling and texturing tools.
• Strong experience with Unity or Unreal Engine.
• Shader development experience (HLSL/GLSL/Shader Graph).
• Scripting in Python or C# for tooling.
• Understanding of PBR workflows and optimization.
• Good problem-solving and teamwork skills.
• Portfolio showcasing technical art, assets, and pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and maintain art pipelines for game development using engines like Unity or Unreal Engine.
• Create and optimize 3D models, textures, materials, and shaders to meet performance budgets and artistic requirements.
• Implement and manage game assets within the chosen game engine, ensuring proper setup and functionality.
• Develop custom tools, scripts, and shaders to enhance the efficiency of the art team and improve visual quality.
• Collaborate with artists and programmers to troubleshoot technical issues related to art assets and engine integration.
• Profile and optimize game performance, identifying and addressing bottlenecks related to graphics and art assets.
• Stay current with new technologies, engine features, and best practices in technical art.
• Provide technical guidance and support to the art team.
• Document workflows, tools, and best practices for the art department.

Skills

Technical art

Game engines

Scripting (Python/C#)

3D modeling & texturing

Shader development

PBR workflows

Tool development

Performance optimization

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Graphics / Game Development / Fine Arts

Tools

Maya

3ds Max

Blender

Substance Painter

Shader Graph

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Technical Artist for a Polokwane-based game studio. You will bridge art and engineering, optimize assets, and build efficient pipelines for multiplatform games.

You will collaborate with environment and character artists, plus programmers to develop tools, solve technical challenges, and improve workflows. A strong background in engines, shader work, and Python/C# tooling is essential.