Senior Lighting Artist
d3t and Coconut Lizard are at the cutting edge of technology and creativity, delivering co-development video game services to our global triple-A clients. Our successful studio is growing and we are looking for a Senior Lighting Artist to join the expanding Art Team. Our studio, part of the Keywords Studios Group, works on multiple exciting projects at any one time offering plenty of variety and involvement. Our studio projects have included: EA Sports FC 24, Hogwart’s Legacy, Vampire: The Masquerade - Blood Hunt, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Alan Wake Remastered, Mafia II: Definitive Edition and Assetto Corsa Competizione.
Our studios are based near Daresbury, Cheshire and Newcastle, Tyne & Wear where we offer an amazingly professional, fun and supportive working environment. We are passionate about what we do and pride ourselves on our anti-crunch mentality, mentoring ethos and have been awarded 'Best Places to Work’ multiple times by gamesindustry.biz including 2022, 2023 and 2024. In addition, we won ‘Best Creative Service Provider‘ at Develop 2022 and were nominated in 2023 & 2024.
The Senior Lighting Artist will be a key part of our expanding Art Team. We work with high-profile, global clients on amazing game titles and the Senior Lighting Artist will get to work on a wide variety of projects, raising the bar of the art productivity and efficiency, and therefore helping us satisfy and retain our client’s loyalty. As a Senior Lighting Artist, you will be responsible for designing and implementing lighting systems which enhance the mood, atmosphere, and visual storytelling of a game, while ensuring technical performance and optimization across platforms. You will work closely with other teams to create dynamic lighting for environments, characters, and gameplay elements, balancing artistic vision with technical constraints.
Responsibilities – Senior Lighting Artist
· Develop and implement high-quality lighting setups for game environments, characters, cinematics, and other gameplay elements.
· Ensure the lighting set-ups support and enhance gameplay mechanics while maintaining a high level of artistic quality.
· Maintain a pipeline-friendly workflow, balancing artistic vision with technical constraints.
· Contribute to the visual fidelity of weather states and other ambient effects to enhance immersion.
· Work with the tech team to optimise lighting for various platforms and hardware configurations finding the best performance/ quality trade off on both high-end and low-end systems.
· Create well written process, tools and pipeline documentation with supporting images and video examples where required.
Requirements
Essential Skills
· Expertise in creating mood and atmosphere through lighting.
· A keen artistic eye and attention to detail with a deep understanding of colour theory, shadow, light interaction, and visual storytelling.
· Proficiency with Unreal Engine 5, with an excellent understanding of Unreal’ s different lighting systems and post-process effects.
· Proactive, self-motivated and able to translate art direction, visual reference or concept effectively into the game.
· Ability to create high-quality lighting for a variety of gameplay situations.
· Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive approach to improving workflow efficiency and optimisation.
· Excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently with little oversight, whilst also supporting a collaborative team environment.
Desirable Skills
· At least five years of experience working as a Lighting Artist in the games industry.
· Experience using Lumen or other dynamic GI lighting systems.
· Familiarity with legacy lighting workflows and experience optimising lighting for low and mid-end hardware.
· A background in traditional art, photography, or cinematography, with a strong understanding of lighting in different artistic mediums.
· Experience with blueprinting or custom lighting tool creation in Unreal Engine.
· Experience working in HDR.
· Experience working with dynamic weather systems and lighting transitions.
· Previous experience working in a co-development or client-facing studio environment on AAA titles.
· A passion for games and a strong interest in emerging technologies and trends in video game development.
Benefits
Benefits & Perks – some of the many offered by our studio alongside a great work environment:
· 25 days holiday (+ bank holidays + up to 5 days extra for length of service)
· Company Pension Scheme
· Flexible working hours
· Annual Bonus – be rewarded for great teamwork!
· Private Medical and Dental Insurance Scheme + Eye Care Scheme
· Anti-crunch ethos - an amazingly professional, fun and supportive working environment!
· Income Protection & Life Assurance
· Free Parking
· Game Vouchers
· Tech, Bike and Electric Vehicle Schemes
· Company Socials/Clubs, Monthly Studio Lunches and Annual d3t Events
· Breakout Areas – filled with perks such as games, BBQ area, complimentary snacks to suit all dietary preferences etc.
We offer a flexible working hours policy – this role can be hybrid, remote (UK based only) or studio based at either of our studio sites - d3t (Runcorn, Cheshire) or Coconut Lizard (Gateshead, Tyne & Wear).
Initial interviews will be held by video call with additional interviews at the studios, dependent on location.
Don't meet every single requirement? Not a problem - please apply. At d3t we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace and culture. If this opportunity excites you but your current skills or past experience don't align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to still apply. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles within our team.
