Lighthouse Games

Unreal Engine-powered AAA racing game studio

Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist

3D ModelingConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeRoyal Leamington Spa, UKHybrid

About the Job

Requirements

Extensive senior- or principal-level experience developing, implementing, and optimising complex real-time materials and shaders in Unreal Engine.
Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine’s Material Editor, including Master Materials, material functions, parameterisation, layered materials, and scalable shader architecture.
Deep understanding of real-time rendering, physically based rendering (PBR) workflows, lighting, texture authoring, and shader performance.
Advanced proficiency with Substance Designer and Substance Painter, supported by a strong portfolio and the ability to provide technical direction to other artists.

Responsibilities

Define and champion the technical and artistic quality bar for materials and shaders.
Design, develop, and maintain complex Unreal Engine Master Materials, shader systems, and reusable material functions.
Create benchmark-quality physically based rendering (PBR) materials and work with Art Leadership, Artists, Technical Artists, and Render Engineers to balance realism, flexibility, and performance.
Establish scalable material pipelines, profile and optimise shader content, and support other artists through guidance and best practices.

Desired Qualifications

Experience with HLSL, custom shader code, procedural material techniques, scripting, or automation.
Knowledge of photogrammetry, photography, scanning, or physically accurate material capture.

Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist

Lighthouse Games · Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom (Hybrid) · Full-time · Posted 2026-09-04

Workplace: hybrid

Department: Art

Description

Lighthouse Games is a new AAA studio in Leamington Spa. We are defined by our pedigree of talent and serious ambition to build a new best-in-class game. When you join us at Lighthouse, you’ll create the best work of your career within a collaborative, hybrid working environment. You’ll learn from the best and work alongside the future greats of the gaming industry.

As a Principal Technical Material/Shader Artist, you will lead the quality, direction and technical standards of material and shader creation across all types of 3D artwork. Combining a strong artistic eye with deep technical expertise, you will create scalable material systems and workflows that deliver visually compelling content within the performance requirements of a real-time AAA production.

Key Duties Include

Define and champion the technical and artistic quality bar for materials and shaders.
Design, develop and maintain complex Unreal Engine Master Materials, shader systems and reusable material functions.
Create benchmark-quality PBR materials and work with Art Leadership, Artists, Technical Artists and Render Engineers to balance realism, flexibility and performance.
Establish scalable material pipelines, profile and optimise shader content, and support other artists through guidance and best practices.

Requirements

Extensive senior or principal-level experience developing, implementing and optimising complex real-time materials and shaders in Unreal Engine.
Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine’s Material Editor, including Master Materials, material functions, parameterisation, layered materials and scalable shader architecture.
Deep understanding of real-time rendering, PBR workflows, lighting, texture authoring and shader performance.
Advanced proficiency with tools such as Substance Designer and Substance Painter, supported by a strong portfolio and the ability to provide technical direction to other artists.

Desirable

Experience with HLSL, custom shader code, procedural material techniques, scripting or automation.
Knowledge of photogrammetry, photography, scanning or physically accurate material capture.

Benefits

25 Days Holiday, plus 1 day for your birthday
Studio Shutdown between Christmas and New Year
Discretionary Bonus Scheme
Private Pension Scheme
Private Healthcare
Health and Well-Being Benefits
Dental Care
Optical treatments
Mental Health Support

Apply

Apply at Lighthouse Games

About the Company

Lighthouse Games

Unreal Engine-powered AAA racing game studio

Lighthouse Games is an independent AAA game studio based in Leamington Spa, developing PC and console titles with a focus on technologically ambitious, highly polished experiences. Its debut project is a new intellectual property built on Unreal Engine, described as a disruptive driving game that aims to innovate within the racing genre rather than imitate existing franchises like Forza Horizon. The company relies on a growing team of industry veterans and has secured funding from Tencent’s Venture Lab while preserving full creative and publishing control. Compared with competitors, Lighthouse blends seasoned leadership from Codemasters and Playground Games with a fresh, independent stance and a clear aim to define a new genre of driving games for a global audience. The overarching goal is to deliver a high-budget, globally appealing racing title that establishes a new IP and drives the studio’s growth.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom
Founded: 2023

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