Lead Lighting Artist (Unreal Engine 5)

TL;DR

Lead Lighting Artist (Unreal Engine 5): Shaping and delivering world-class real-time lighting for gameplay, cinematics, and marketing assets with an accent on enhancing atmosphere, storytelling, and player experience. Focus on utilizing Unreal Engine 5 systems like Lumen and Virtual Shadow Maps to push visual quality while meeting performance goals.

Location: Hybrid in Brighton, England, United Kingdom (travel as required)

Company

Home to the award-winning Mafia franchise, hirify.global's team is united by a passion for rich narrative storytelling, cinematic presentation, and AAA craft.

What you will do

• Define and execute the lighting vision aligned with the game’s art direction.
• Lead lighting for real-time gameplay, in-engine cinematics, and marketing assets.
• Act as an expert for UE5 lighting systems like Lumen and Virtual Shadow Maps.
• Collaborate with Engineering to develop and refine lighting solutions and pipelines.
• Take ownership of lighting performance, identifying potential issues and guiding solutions.
• Provide artistic and technical guidance and mentorship to lighting artists.

Requirements

• Strong portfolio showcasing high-quality real-time lighting in Unreal Engine.
• Experience in a Lead Lighting Artist role on shipped titles.
• Deep hands-on experience lighting complex scenes using UE5.
• Excellent understanding of lighting fundamentals such as color, contrast, exposure, composition, and mood.
• Strong technical awareness of real-time rendering constraints, profiling, and optimization.
• Practical knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 lighting systems and workflows.
• Previous experience capturing, processing, and implementing HDR skies/sky domes.
• Clear communication skills to explain lighting intent to artistic and technical audiences.

Nice to have

• Experience contributing to high-quality in-engine marketing or promotional assets.
• Familiarity with custom or advanced rendering pipelines in Unreal Engine.
• Strong eye for cinematic lighting, composition, and visual storytelling.
• Photography and studio lighting skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Committed to diversity and equal employment opportunity.
• Provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.
• Passionate team united by love for story, style, and adventure.