Senior Technical Lighting Artist - Unreal Engine
Senior Technical Lighting Artist - Unreal Engine
Remote · Full-time · B2B or employment · Co-dev model
We are looking for a Senior Technical Lighting Artist with strong Unreal Engine experience and a solid understanding of real-time lighting, rendering, and environment systems.
This role is not about relying on plugins or presets to quickly create a good-looking result. We are looking for someone who understands the core Unreal Engine components behind the look, knows what key parameters do, and can diagnose lighting, rendering, exposure, shadow, fog, and Time of Day issues in production.
This is a hands-on co-development role focused on lighting execution, technical awareness, and close collaboration with client-side Art, Lighting, Tech Art, and Engineering teams. It does not require production ownership or lead-level management support.
You’ll know this is for you if…
You have strong Unreal Engine lighting experience and understand how real-time lighting systems are built
You understand Time of Day systems beyond using plugins, presets, or black-box tools
You know how direct light, skylight, fog, atmosphere, exposure, shadows, Lumen, Nanite, and performance settings affect each other
You can navigate Blueprints, Sequencer, World Partition, Data Layers, levels, and sublevels
You are comfortable diagnosing problems, identifying likely causes, and communicating clearly with Tech Art or Engineering
What you’ll do
Create, polish, and troubleshoot lighting directly in Unreal Engine
Work with Time of Day lighting systems and understand how their components interact
Adjust and balance key components such as Directional Light, Skylight, Sky Atmosphere, Skybox, Exponential Height Fog, Post Process Volumes, Local Exposure, and atmospheric settings
Use Sequencer to control lighting setups, Day Sequence Volumes, and Time of Day parameters
Diagnose visual and technical issues related to lighting, rendering, exposure, shadows, fog, atmosphere, and performance
Work with Unreal rendering systems such as Lumen, Virtual Shadow Maps, Nanite, LODs, draw distances, and light complexity
Navigate Blueprints to understand how lighting or environment systems are built and where issues may come from
Work within level, sublevel, World Partition, and Data Layer setups
Collaborate with Art Directors, Lighting Artists, Technical Artists, and Engineers to solve production issues
What we’re looking for
Strong portfolio or reel showing real-time lighting work in Unreal Engine
Professional experience as a Lighting Artist, Technical Lighting Artist, Technical Artist, Environment Artist with lighting focus, or similar role
Strong understanding of Unreal Engine lighting workflows and rendering fundamentals
Practical knowledge of Time of Day systems and how they are usually structured
Understanding of how direct light, skylight, sky, fog, atmosphere, exposure, post process, and shadows work together
Good knowledge of Lumen, Virtual Shadow Maps, Nanite, LODs, draw distances, light complexity, and platform limitations
Ability to diagnose visual and technical problems, even when the final fix requires Tech Art or Engineering support
Ability to use plugins when helpful, without relying on them as a black box
Clear written English and comfort working in a fully remote, client-facing co-development model
Key technical knowledge
The ideal candidate should understand how these systems work, why they are used, and how they affect each other:
Time of Day Lighting Systems
Directional Light, Skylight, Sky Atmosphere, Skybox, Exponential Height Fog
Post Process Volumes, exposure, and Local Exposure
Sequencer and Day Sequence Volumes
Lumen, including limitations and supported platforms
Virtual Shadow Maps and shadow-related artifacts
Nanite, LODs, draw distances, visibility, and light complexity
Blueprints used for lighting, environment, or Time of Day systems
Level structure, sublevels, World Partition, Data Layers, and streaming
Nice to have
Experience with dynamic Time of Day systems
Experience with large open-world or semi-open-world Unreal Engine projects
Experience profiling or debugging lighting and rendering performance
Strong cinematic and gameplay lighting sense
Console or performance-constrained platform experience
Basic Blueprint scripting knowledge
Experience working closely with Tech Art or Engineering teams
What we offer
Co-development work on technically interesting Unreal Engine projects
Direct impact on lighting quality, readability, and rendering consistency
Close collaboration with experienced client-side Art, Lighting, Tech Art, and Engineering teams
Fully remote work with flexible contract options: B2B or employment
Opportunity to work on hard-to-find, technically demanding lighting challenges
Collaborative, production-focused environment
Annual team retreat focused on alignment, learning, and team bonding
To apply: send your portfolio or lighting reel and a short note describing one Unreal Engine lighting setup you worked on, what systems were involved, and what technical challenges you had to solve. No cover letter required.