Hybrid Lead Technical Artist

at Virtuos

• Job title: Lead Technical Artist
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: Python, Unreal Engine
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Poland

About the role

• Lead Technical Artist at Virtuos, utilizing Unreal Engine 5 and Houdini to enhance game visuals. Overseeing procedural generation, optimizing art workflows, and leading cross-discipline collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive procedural generation and optimization strategy in Unreal Engine;
• Design and maintain scalable procedural pipelines (Houdini, PCG) integrated into production;
• Establish and enforce performance budgets, standards, and best practices;
• Lead cross-discipline alignment to ensure performant and consistent visual quality;
• Oversee profiling strategy and resolve systemic performance bottlenecks;
• Drive tool and pipeline improvements for scalability and efficiency;
• Provide technical direction, mentorship, and ownership of technical quality.
• Hands-on work with PCG and Houdini;
• Define and adjust technical direction for procedural workflows and optimization for the team;
• Coordinate team activities and ensure alignment across art, tech, and design;
• Communicate progress, risks, and technical decisions to stakeholders;
• Review team output and provide actionable feedback;
• Support and unblock team members on technical challenges;
• Plan and prioritize tasks for the team.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in game development or other CG industry;
• Minimum of 3 years of experience as a Technical Artist;
• Proficient in using Unreal Engine 5 or any other industry-leading game engine with a deep understanding of its art and rendering pipelines;
• Strong knowledge of the PCG system in UE;
• Experience and proficiency with Houdini;
• Solid understanding of performance optimization techniques and best practices in game development.
• Expertise in developing custom tools and scripts to enhance and streamline art workflows;
• Expertise in creating and optimizing shaders, materials, and visual effects for game environments;
• Experience in dealing with material creation & optimization (Master Materials, Material Functions, Material Layers, Material Collection Parameters);
• Environment asset pipeline knowledge (Displacement, Decimation Workflow, Modular Workflow, Texel Density, Collisions, Sculpting, UV's, Building Creations);
• Experience with world-building systems (Landscape, RVT, Foliage, Procedural Foliage);
• Knowledge of at least one 3D modeling, texturing, and animation software, such as Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Blender, and Substance Package;
• Scripting languages as Python, Vex, MEL and Maxscript;
• Experience with VFX software like Embergen or Niagara plugin in UE is a plus;
• Scripting skills like Python, tooling (editor utility widget), Excel.
• Strong team management and leadership abilities;
• Effective task delegation while maintaining high team morale;
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across disciplines;
• Proficient problem-solving within the team context;
• Adaptability to changing project needs and iterative improvement based on feedback;
• Ability to foster a productive environment and a delivery-focused mindset.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Professional development