Masters Thesis: Neural Shading Stylized Characters

We are building the next generation of football gaming

We believe football gaming should be as exciting and inclusive as the sport itself. Our vision is to build the world’s most player‑centric football game, which empowers a global community to compete, create, and connect. No outdated licenses. No legacy limitations. Just pure football, driven by innovation, culture, and the people who love the game.

GOALS is for the kids and the champions. The creators, the grinders, the entertainers. For every moment of skill, every style of play, and every version of you. This is more than just a game — it’s a new standard.

Read more about GOALS here.

This Master’s thesis explores neural shading for stylized real‑time character rendering.

The focus is on using neural material representations for:

• Kits and fabrics (art‑directed materials)

Rather than targeting photorealism, the project investigates how neural shading can enable bespoke visual styles, richer material behavior, and potentially simpler and more scalable rendering pipelines in a real‑time game engine.

You’ll work at the intersection of graphics, machine learning, and game development, with real production constraints and guidance from our rendering and art teams.

• Research neural shading and neural material techniques
• Work with stylized reference materials and visual targets
• Design and train neural models for skin and fabric shading
• Prototype and evaluate solutions in a real‑time rendering context (e.g. Unreal Engine)
• Compare neural approaches to traditional shaders in terms of visual quality, artistic control and runtime performance.
• Collaborate with engineers and artists to align with GOALS’ visual direction

You’ll be working on real problems with real impact — not just theoretical experiments.

• Enrolled in a Master’s program in Computer Graphics, Game Technology, Machine Learning, or a related field
• Passionate about real‑time rendering and visual quality
• Comfortable with at least some of the following:
  • C++ and/or shader languages (HLSL, GLSL)
  • Python and machine learning frameworks (PyTorch, Tensor Flow, etc.)
  • Unreal Engine or other real‑time engines
• Curious about combining art direction and advanced rendering techniques

You don’t need to match everything perfectly — motivation and interest matter most.

You will work with and learn to

• Work on cutting‑edge graphics and AI techniques
• Apply research directly in a real game environment
• Collaborate closely with experienced engineers and artists
• Build strong merit for future roles in graphics, engine, or R&D teams
• Be part of a fast‑moving team shaping the future of football games

This is a Master’s thesis project carried out in collaboration with GOALS and does not constitute an employment relationship.
Thesis work is unpaid
, in accordance with standard academic practice. The scope and objectives will be defined jointly to meet academic requirements. The project will be conducted from Stockholm or in a hybrid setup. English is the working language.