Contract VFX Artist

Location: United States

Department: Art

The Role

We’re looking for a Contract VFX Artist to help bring our worlds to life through high-quality, real-time visual effects. You’ll play a key role in creating atmospheric, stylized, and gameplay-driven effects that enhance immersion, tension, and player feedback.

This is a hands-on role focused on execution and iteration, working closely with art, design, and engineering to deliver polished in-game effects on a defined timeline.

What You’ll Do

• Create high-quality real-time VFX for gameplay, environments, and cinematics (particles, shaders, lighting effects, etc.)
• Design and implement effects that enhance player feedback, readability, and emotional impact
• Work within Unreal Engine (Niagara preferred) to build, iterate, and polish effects
• Collaborate with art direction to ensure consistency with the game’s visual style and tone
• Partner with designers to support gameplay clarity and moment-to-moment feedback
• Optimize VFX for performance, memory, and scalability across target platforms
• Iterate quickly based on feedback and production needs
• Maintain clean organization and documentation of VFX assets

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years of experience creating real-time VFX for games
• Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality, stylized, and/or atmospheric effects
• Experience with Unreal Engine (Niagara strongly preferred) or similar real-time engines
• Solid understanding of shaders, materials, and particle systems
• Ability to balance visual quality with performance constraints
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Ability to work independently and deliver assets on schedule in a contract environment

Nice to Have

• Experience working on horror or atmospheric games
• Knowledge of Houdini or procedural VFX workflows
• Basic scripting or technical art experience
• Experience shipping at least one game title
• Familiarity with console and multi-platform optimization

 

Contract Rate:

The contract rate for this position is listed below. Final compensation within the applicable salary range will be determined based on factors such as the applicant’s experience, qualifications, and work location.

San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; & Seattle, WA DC Metropolitan Areas: $37 - $54 USD hourly

Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; & Miami, FL Metropolitan Areas: $33 - $47 USD hourly

All Other U.S. Locations: $28 - $40 USD hourly