Studio Lead

Imerza

$100K — $120K *
Media
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of professional 3D production experience
  • Proven experience managing and developing artist teams
  • Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 features and real-time rendering pipelines
  • Solid understanding of BIM/CAD-to-UE5 workflows using Revit, Rhino, or SketchUp
  • Familiarity with digital twin concepts and their impact on production decisions
  • Architectural visualization background preferred, with knowledge of construction documentation
  • Proficient in Perforce and project tracking tools like Jira
  • Experience with 3ds Max and/or Blender; Houdini and Substance knowledge beneficial

Responsibilities

  • Lead a studio of 3 to 4 artists in real-time production projects
  • Build alongside your team as a hands-on producing lead
  • Own quality assurance standards to ensure consistent output
  • Facilitate project kickoffs and share production knowledge with the team
  • Reduce single points of failure by minimizing specialist dependencies
  • Oversee technical setup and visual language for new projects
  • Collaborate on UE5 pipeline enhancements with Principal Artists and the department
  • Mentor artists and provide constructive feedback for career development
  • Represent the studio's work in client and stakeholder discussions
  • Contribute to hiring decisions and performance evaluations for studio staff

Benefits

  • Relocation assistance available for the right candidate
  • Opportunity to work in a balanced leadership and hands-on production role
  • Involvement in innovative real-time production projects
  • Access to continued professional development and mentorship opportunities
  • Collaborative studio culture with a focus on quality and creativity
Full Job Description
About the Job

Compensation: $100,000 to $120,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

This is a leadership role that requires hands-on production. You will split your time roughly equally between building and leading. That balance is intentional and permanent, not a transitional phase. You will lead a studio of 3 to 4 artists across concurrent real-time production projects, own quality from brief through delivery, and stay technically engaged through pre-production, pipeline work, and R&D.

What You'll Do

  • Lead a studio of 3 to 4 artists across concurrent real-time production projects
  • Build alongside your team; you are a producing lead, not a pure manager
  • Own studio-level QA as the final gate before work advances, applying consistent standards across frame rate targets, asset budgets, naming conventions, and visual quality
  • Lead project kickoffs and distribute production context and knowledge across the team so it does not rest with any single person
  • Actively reduce specialist dependencies so studio output is not contingent on any one individual
  • Lead pre-production technical setup to define approach and visual language on new projects
  • Contribute UE5 pipeline improvements in collaboration with Principal Artists and the wider department
  • Mentor artists and provide direct, constructive performance feedback and career development support
  • Represent your studio's work in client and stakeholder contexts as that responsibility evolves
  • Recommend on hiring decisions and performance outcomes for studio personnel
  • Work within an art budget defined in collaboration with Production


What We're Looking For

  • 8+ years of professional 3D production experience
  • Proven experience managing and developing artist teams, required
  • Expert working knowledge of Unreal Engine 5: Lumen, Nanite, PCG, and real-time rendering pipelines
  • Solid understanding of BIM/CAD-to-UE5 pipelines: Revit, Rhino, or SketchUp via Datasmith
  • Awareness of Pixel Streaming and its implications for real-time art production decisions
  • Familiarity with digital twin concepts and how real-time art decisions affect downstream data pipelines and platform performance
  • Architectural visualization or architecture background strongly preferred; familiarity with architectural scale, construction documentation, and FF&E is a genuine advantage
  • Perforce required; Jira or equivalent project tracking
  • Proficiency in 3ds Max and/or Blender; Houdini and Substance beneficial


Portfolio Requirements

  • Submit a real-time walkthrough reel demonstrating interactive environments; pre-rendered video or still imagery will not be accepted as substitutes
  • Include project-level context for each piece: your specific role, the scale of the project, and the production constraints you were working within
  • Before submitting, review our work at Imerza.com


Additional Requirements

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position is based in Sarasota, FL. Candidates who can work onsite or are willing to relocate are strongly preferred. Relocation assistance is available for the right candidate.

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