Epic Games

Lead Technical Artist

Epic Games • $110K — $130K *
Cary, NC 27513In-Person
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in technical art for games with at least one shipped title
  • Experience leading or mentoring Technical Artists
  • Proficient in real-time rendering and performance optimization
  • Familiarity with world-building pipelines and procedural workflows
  • Strong skills in tool development with scripting/programming expertise (Python, C#, C++)
  • Proficient with Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar game engines
  • Solid understanding of shader/material development with software like Houdini or Maya

Responsibilities

  • Profile game content and address performance issues with Art and Engineering
  • Optimize materials, textures, lighting, and VFX to meet performance goals
  • Aid artists with best practices for LOD scaling and content management
  • Conduct reviews and create tools for early technical issue identification
  • Develop tools for efficient environment creation and asset management
  • Collaborate with teams to enhance world-building workflows
  • Lead and mentor a Technical Art team, ensuring project deliverables are met

Benefits

  • 100% premiums coverage for Medical, Dental, and Vision for employees and dependents
  • Long Term Disability and Life Insurance included
  • 401k with competitive match offered
  • Access to a mental well-being program providing free therapy and coaching
  • Company-wide paid breaks and events throughout the year
  • Unlimited PTO and sick time
  • Paid sabbatical after 7 years of employment
Full Job Description
ART
What We Do

Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.
What You'll Do

We're looking for a Lead Technical Artist to guide a team of Technical Artists in building visually compelling, performant game worlds as part of our collaboration with Disney. Working closely with Art, Engineering, and Design, you'll translate project goals into practical tools, workflows, and technical solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role focused on day-to-day execution, team mentorship, and solving production challenges. You'll help deliver the studio's technical art direction.
In this role, you will
  • Profile game content and resolve performance bottlenecks in collaboration with Art and Engineering
  • Optimize geometry, materials, shaders, textures, lighting, foliage, and VFX to meet established performance and memory budgets
  • Help artists apply best practices for LODS, instancing, streaming, and content scalability across target platforms
  • Conduct content reviews and develop validation tools to identify technical issues early
  • Develop and maintain tools that support efficient environment creation, including terrain, foliage, procedural generation, and asset placement
  • Partner with Environment Art and Level Design to improve world-building workflows and troubleshoot production issues
  • Implement established standards for modular assets, materials, and content organization
  • Document tools and workflows, helping artists adopt them effectively
  • Lead the day-to-day work of a small Technical Art team, coordinating priorities and deliverables with Production and technical leadership
  • Mentor Technical Artists through feedback, technical reviews, and hands-on problem-solving
  • Balance individual contributions with delegation, giving team members clear ownership and opportunities to grow
  • Communicate progress, dependencies, and technical risks to project leadership
  • Coordinate Initiatives with Tech Art Leads on other projects working in the same development environment
  • Help establish practical usage guidelines and train artists on approved workflows, following studio policies for intellectual property, licensing, and data security
  • Evaluate results against quality and efficiency goals, recommending which workflows to refine or expand
What we're looking for
  • Experience shipping and supporting a live-service game
  • Strong professional experience in technical art for games, including contributions to a shipped title or comparably complex production
  • Experience leading or mentoring Technical Artists and coordinating technical work across disciplines
  • Practical knowledge of real-time rendering, profiling, content optimization, and performance budgets
  • Experience with world-building pipelines, procedural workflows, LOD systems, and content streaming
  • Proficiency with Unreal Engine, Unity, or a proprietary game engine
  • Scripting or programming experience for tool development, using languages such as Python, C#, or C++
  • Familiarity with shader and material development, alongside tools such as Houdini, Maya, or Blender
  • Strong problem-solving, communication, and prioritization skills, with an appreciation for artistic quality
EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE

Our intent is to cover all things that are medically necessary and improve the quality of life. We pay 100% of the premiums for both you and your dependents. Our coverage includes Medical, Dental, a Vision HRA, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance & a 401k with competitive match. We also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents. Throughout the year we celebrate our employees with events and company-wide paid breaks. We offer unlimited PTO and sick time and recognize individuals for 7 years of employment with a paid sabbatical.

About Epic Games

Epic Games is a video game development company that is best known for creating the popular game Fortnite. The company was founded in 1991 by Tim Sweeney and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina. Epic Games has developed a number of other successful games, including the Unreal series and Gears of War. The company is also known for its Unreal Engine, a game engine that is used by many other game developers. Epic Games is committed to advancing the state of the art in game development and creating innovative and engaging experiences for players.
Learn more about Epic Games
Size
2,700 employees
Industry
Founded
1991

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