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Video Game Development, Entertainment, Software

Lead Lighting Artist

Novato, CAOnsiteFull TimeLeadPosted 2 months agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

  • AAA title
  • Unreal Engine 5
  • Lumen
  • UE Sequencer
  • In-game cinematics
  • Runtime performance constraints
  • Talent Management
  • Retention

Nice to have

  • Cloud Chamber
  • BioShock
  • Art Director
  • Core Tech Team
  • Production
  • Cross-disciplinary teams

Role summary

Cloud Chamber is seeking a Lead Lighting Artist to shape the visual atmosphere and artistic direction of their games, specifically BioShock. This role involves managing, mentoring, and inspiring a team of lighting artists, collaborating with art leadership to set visual standards, and optimizing lighting workflows. The ideal candidate will have 7+ years of experience in real-time lighting and final rendering, including lead experience on at least one shipped AAA title, with in-depth knowledge of Unreal Engine 5, Lumen, UE Sequencer, and PBR. Responsibilities include ensuring technical specifications are met, optimizing lighting for performance, and managing project timelines. This is a hybrid role based in Novato, California.

As a Lead Lighting Artist at Cloud Chamber, you will join our talented development team to help shape our visual narrative and atmosphere. In this role, you’ll collaborate with a passionate group of game developers to craft visually stunning, dynamic lighting that supports world-class real-time environments and cinematics—bringing the richly imagined world of BioShock to life.

What You’ll Do:

As a Lead Lighting Artist, you are a primary driver of your direct reports' success. You will set clear expectations, provide coaching, and manage the health, career growth, and output of a high-performing art team while establishing best practices across lighting pipelines.

  • Lead a team of lighting artists and provide guidance, feedback, and mentorship to ensure high-quality results.
  • Establish best practices and standards within the team to drive productivity, quality, and excellence.
  • Foster a positive, proactive, and agile work environment that encourages innovation and collaboration.
  • Collaborate closely with the Art Director and other leads, to understand and uphold the visual style and direction for lighting.
  • Develop and maintain a consistent and efficient lighting pipeline and workflows, acting as the primary point of contact for issues, proactively resolving problems and addressing roadblocks.
  • Research and implement new techniques and technologies related to lighting with the goal of continuous development and improvement.
  • Collaborate with:
  • Our Core Tech Team to ensure adherence to technical specifications and optimization requirements for real-time rendering engines.
  • Production and scheduling teams to define realistic timelines and manage project priorities.
  • Other groups within the art department to achieve cohesive and visually stunning results.
  • Continuously monitor project progress with an eye for improvement and optimization, providing updates to cross-functional stakeholders, and adjusting priorities as needed.
  • Receive and apply constructive feedback as part of our iterative process effectively while maintaining a positive attitude.

    • What We’ll Do Together:

    At Cloud Chamber, we are champions of high standards, pushing for progress and embracing change. We will work closely and constructively across design, art, engineering, animation, and audio teams to realize our creative ambitions. Together, we will stay current on technological advancements and identify solutions to overcome developmental obstacles to deliver a world-class AAA experience.

    Skills & Experiences:

  • 7+ years of experience in real-time lighting and final rendering, with a proven track record as an Art Lead on at least one shipped AAA title.
  • Deep understanding of Physically Based Rendering (PBR), runtime optimization, lighting for in-game cinematics, and practical expertise with Unreal Engine 5 (specifically Lumen Lighting and Sequencer).
  • Demonstrated history of successfully recruiting, developing, mentoring, and retaining top artistic talent while managing workload output and team well-being.
  • Proven experience collaborating directly with Core Tech and Production teams to establish and optimize real-time pipelines under runtime constraints.

    • Who You Are:

  • A reliable, positive force multiplier, actively seeking opportunities to integrate work across disciplines and contribute to a healthy, supportive team environment.
  • A solid communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, package information for diverse audiences, and deliver difficult feedback with empathy and professionalism.
  • Experienced in working in cross-disciplinary teams with strong communication skills.
  • Persistent and self-motivated with a proactive mindset.
  • Able to maintain effectiveness and quality under pressure, ambiguity, and fast-changing priorities.
  • An active listener able to build and maintain trust-based relationships across all levels of the organization, understand differing perspectives, and navigate organizational complexity with tact and emotional intelligence.
  • Highly open to feedback and direction, possessing a desire to learn new skills, and capable of producing quick, quality revisions based on new insights or constraints.
  • A strong ownership of tasks, striving to drive work forward autonomously while maintaining a critical eye for detail and organization, ensuring high standards of quality.
  • Dedicated to upholding Cloud Chamber's core values, contributing to a positive and respectful company culture while striving for excellence in all endeavors.

    • Who We Are:

    At Cloud Chamber we strive to make BioShock games that move people: evocative, immersive, and meaningful experiences that stay with you long after you’ve rolled credits. Great games are born from great collaborations, supported by a culture that brings out the best in our teams. We work openly, learn through play, take ownership, push ourselves to be better, and deliver for our players.

    The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $150,400 and $180,000 USD per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

    As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform their essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

    Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews. When emailing prospective employees, we only use 2K.com accounts.

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