Job Title:
Expert Lighting Artist - Sledgehammer Games

Requisition ID:
R027907

Job Description:

Your Mission

Are you a video games enthusiast who enjoys first-person-shooters and has a passion for digital lighting, art, and photo realistic quality?

The lighting team are the gatekeepers of mood, visual storytelling, and are one of the primary drivers of player emotion. We work closely with our art and creative directors to evoke player emotion and drive what's most important to us: Gameplay. In this role, you will be an integral, and critical member of our small but agile team. As our newest teammate, you will work side by side with our Lighting Leads. Together, you will help execute some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in video games. You and our team will be accomplishing this by having routine 1:1s, weekly team meetings, you will have an in-depth training period, and open dialog / high communication with adjacent teams.

• Responsible for creating game-play and in-game cinematic lighting based on direction from the Art Director
• Ensure that lighting assets meet runtime and disk budgeting requirements.
• Anticipate, identify, and report any potential production problems and communicate those to the Lead
• Work collaboratively with other departments: Character, VFX, and especially Environment Art
• Work independently and with other leads and directors to create an optimal lighting pipeline for the product
• Stay current with industry lighting techniques
• Work with Rendering engineers to push our engine further
• Creation of the sky dome and cloud assets
• Find creative ways to set industry standards
• Create workflows and best practices for the lighting team
• Mentor other Lighting artists, and help build an environment of creativity, trust and excellence

Minimum Requirements

• Extensive experience in a Lighting role in the gaming industry (+12 years)
• Excellent working knowledge of Maya and Photoshop or equivalent
• In-depth knowledge of physically based lighting
• Strong understanding of advanced lighting fundamentals
• Strong sense of lighting theory; color space, exposure, light fixtures, natural light, reflections etc.
• Proven track-record of leading and inspiring teams
• Understanding of composition and the ability to enhance mood with lighting
• Effectively use color grading and post effects to enhance the final image
• Working knowledge of industry standard rendering concepts and processes
• Experienced with Unreal, Unity, or other proprietary engines
• Experience with PBR & HDR lighting
• Familiarity with ray tracing/path tracing systems
• Ability to use AI as a development tool

Extra Points

• Experience with one or more scripting/programming languages.
• Experience with Houdini.
• Knowledge of photography principles and image correction techniques.
• Experience playing Call of Duty or similar FPS games

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision Blizzard, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for 'Every World' - we've got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $99,200.00 - $183,520.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role's range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.