Lead VFX Artist (Call of Duty)

Location: Middleton, Wisconsin, United States; onsite four days per week

Salary: $99,200–$183,520 annual base pay, with potential incentive compensation.

Company

hirify.global's Raven Software develops AAA games and contributes to the Call of Duty franchise, including Warzone and Black Ops.

What you will do

• Lead a team creating and implementing particle effects and systems for environments, gameplay, and cinematics.
• Partner with the Art Director, artists, designers, programmers, and Production to define visual targets, plan milestones, and manage resources.
• Prototype VFX systems and particle materials while improving workflows to meet gameplay and creative goals.
• Drive AAA-quality visual and technical results, including performance, efficiency, and reliability.
• Lead VFX research and development, champion best practices, and communicate risks, mitigations, and progress.
• Mentor artists, provide feedback, and foster accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.

Requirements

• 8+ years of visual effects experience, including 2+ years in a Lead role, in real-time game development or equivalent film/television experience.
• Expert experience with game engines and particle-effects tools such as Unreal, Unity, or equivalent proprietary engines.
• Strong experience with 2D and 3D tools including Photoshop, After Effects, Maya, Max, Houdini, Substance Designer, or EmberGen.
• Strong understanding of rigid-body and fluid simulations, post-processing, and shader development for VFX.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and team-leadership skills, with an adaptable and feedback-oriented approach.
• Ability to work onsite in the Middleton, Wisconsin office four days per week.

Nice to have

• Experience with Call of Duty tools or other proprietary engines.
• Secondary expertise in modeling, animation, or lighting.
• Basic scripting, procedural workflows, real-time physics, or console and PC performance optimization experience.
• Passion for the Call of Duty franchise and a strong traditional art foundation.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, respectful, and direct-communication culture focused on innovation and accountability.
• Medical, dental, vision, health spending, life, disability, and related insurance programs.
• 401(k) with company match, tuition reimbursement, and charitable donation matching.
• Paid holidays and vacation, sick time, floating holidays, parental leave, and bereavement leave.
• Mental health, wellbeing, fitness, legal, identity protection, and discounted-games programs.
• Relocation assistance may be available when the company requires a geographic move for the role.

Hiring process

• Compensation is based on experience, performance, work location, and local geography; the Talent Professional provides detailed range information during the process.