Senior Unreal Lighting Artist – Art Center

About Snail Games USA

Snail Games strives to create the new high bar for gameplay experience in online gaming. We have been a global developer and publisher of digital entertainment since 2009 and are committed to pushing the boundaries of the industry.

We are seeking a Senior Unreal Lighting Artist to strengthen and unify lighting quality across multiple Unreal Engine projects. This role operates within the Art Center as the lighting domain authority, responsible for diagnosing workflow gaps, elevating visual standards, and ensuring lighting consistency across a diverse portfolio that includes fantasy, stylized, and realistic environments.

This is not a project-embedded production role. You will monitor lighting health across projects, proactively identify risks or inefficiencies, propose actionable solutions, and step in hands‑on during critical production moments. You will collaborate closely with Art Directors, Environment teams, Design, VFX, and Engineering to ensure lighting supports gameplay clarity, performance targets, and artistic vision.

You are expected to operate with high autonomy, acting with delegated authority from the Senior Director of Art within the lighting discipline.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming (Los Angeles area strongly preferred)

• Define and elevate lighting standards across multiple Unreal Engine projects
• Monitor cross-project lighting quality and proactively identify visual or technical risks
• Develop solution plans before escalation to senior leadership
• Establish scalable lighting workflows that support different rendering approaches (Lumen, baked lighting, hybrid pipelines)
• Ensure lighting supports gameplay readability and narrative tone
• Lead lighting optimization efforts for PC and console performance
• Provide direct, constructive feedback to distributed teams (US, Poland, Suzhou)
• Create benchmarks, templates, and documentation for lighting consistency
• Step in hands‑on during high‑risk or high‑visibility moments to stabilize execution
• Operate as the single‑discipline lighting authority within the Art Center

• Proven experience delivering high-quality lighting in Unreal Engine (UE4 or UE5)
• Strong understanding of real‑time rendering principles and performance optimization
• Experience working across different visual styles (realistic, stylized, fantasy, sci‑fi)
• Demonstrated ability to identify workflow inefficiencies and implement improvements
• Comfort operating independently and proposing actionable solutions in ambiguous environments
• Ability to provide clear feedback and influence cross‑functional teams
• Unreal Engine
  
  Experience:
  
  Proficiency with Unreal Engine, preferably UE4 or UE5
• Comfort using AI tools to accelerate iteration and reduce friction.

• Experience supporting multi‑project or multi‑team environments
• Familiarity with Nanite, Lumen, and World Partition workflows
• Experience mentoring junior or mid‑level lighting artists
• Strong understanding of color theory and cinematic lighting principles
• Experience collaborating closely with VFX and technical art teams

$115,000 – $155,000 Annually

• True focus on work/life balance
• Paid company holidays, vacation, and separate sick leave
• Medical, dental, vision, and Life/LTD
• 401k with company match