Lead VFX Artist (Game Development)

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

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

Company

hirify.global is a game development studio contributing to the Call of Duty franchise, including Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops campaigns.

What you will do

• Lead a team of VFX artists creating and implementing particle effects and systems for environments, gameplay, and cinematics.
• Partner with the Art Director and collaborate with artists, designers, programmers, and Production.
• Prototype VFX systems and particle materials while improving workflows and supporting gameplay needs.
• Drive visual and technical quality, performance, efficiency, and AAA production standards.
• Lead VFX research and development, establish best practices, and communicate risks, mitigations, and delivery updates.
• Mentor artists, provide feedback, plan team goals, forecast milestones, and identify resource needs.

Requirements

• 8+ years of Visual Effects experience, including 2+ years in a Lead role, in real-time game development or equivalent film and 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 software including Photoshop, After Effects, Maya, Max, Houdini, Substance Designer, or EmberGen.
• Strong understanding of rigid body and fluid simulations, post-processing, shader development, and modern game VFX workflows.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, problem-solving, leadership, and mentoring skills.
• An inspiring reel demonstrating realistic visual effects, modern workflows, and creative solutions to development challenges.

Nice to have

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

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, respectful, direct-communication culture focused on the quality of the game.
• Medical, dental, vision, health savings or reimbursement accounts, insurance, and disability coverage.
• 401(k) with company match, tuition reimbursement, and charitable donation matching.
• Paid holidays, vacation, sick time, floating holidays, bereavement and parental leave.
• Mental health, wellbeing, fitness, legal service, and other voluntary benefit programs.
• Relocation assistance may be available if the company requires a geographic move for the role.