Senior Lighting Artist (Gamedev)

TL;DR

Senior Lighting Artist (Unreal Engine): Crafting atmospheric, horror-themed lighting for the Poppy Playtime franchise with an accent on mood, tension, and visual storytelling. Focus on implementing optimized baked-lighting using GPU Lightmass, developing lighting standards, and collaborating with VFX and environment teams to ensure visual consistency.

Location: Remote

Company

Indie multimedia studio best known for the hit horror game Poppy Playtime.

What you will do

• Design and implement optimized baked-lighting using Unreal Engine’s GPU Lightmass and stationary lighting to drive mood and narrative.
• Collaborate with environment, VFX, and art direction teams to ensure lighting consistency across game chapters.
• Develop and maintain lighting standards, style guides, and best-practice documentation for the team.
• Optimize lighting setups for performance on target platforms (PC and console) without sacrificing quality.
• Mentor junior and mid-level lighting artists, providing feedback and fostering a culture of craft.
• Contribute to the post-process pipeline, including bloom, lens flares, and color grading in Unreal Engine 5.

Requirements

• 10+ years of games industry experience with at least three shipped titles.
• Expert-level proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 lighting and GPU Lightmass pipeline.
• Strong understanding of real-world lighting, photography, and cinematography principles.
• Proven ability to create horror, suspense, or atmospheric lighting styles.
• Experience optimizing lighting for real-time performance on PC and console.
• Solid communication and collaboration skills in a remote-first environment.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with the Poppy Playtime universe and its visual language.
• Experience with dynamic lighting and scripted cinematic sequences.
• Background in Environment Art or Cinematics.
• Knowledge of color theory and LUT pipeline for semi-stylized, PBR games.
• Experience mentoring or leading a lighting team.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote-first work environment.
• Opportunity to work on a high-visibility, globally popular horror franchise.
• Culture focused on craft, iteration, and artistic excellence.
• Inclusive environment following equal opportunity employment practices.