Full-Time

Lead Lighting Artist

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation

1,001-5,000 employees

Produces animated films and TV series

No salary listed

Montreal, QC, Canada

In Person

Must work in Montreal office a minimum of four days per week.

Category
Art, Graphics & Animation

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Requirements
  • Minimum of 7 years of experience in AAA game development with a focus on lighting contributing to at least one shipped AAA title
  • Proven experience leading and managing a team of lighting artists
  • Strong expertise in lighting for day/night cycles, atmosphere, and real-time visual storytelling
  • Solid understanding of real-time rendering pipelines and lighting systems
  • Experience working on large-scale environments or open-world productions
  • Strong collaboration experience across design, technical, and art teams
  • Positive leadership, communication, and feedback skills
  • Must be willing to work in our Montreal office a minimum of 4 days a week
  • Must be legally authorized to work in Canada
  • Must be willing to travel for work related business, if necessary
Responsibilities
  • Translate artistic direction into lighting setups that support mood, atmosphere, realism and visual storytelling
  • Own the execution of level lighting across environments, gameplay, and cinematic contexts
  • Lead and manage the lighting team, providing mentorship, feedback, and direction
  • Ensure consistency and quality of lighting across large-scale worlds and varied content
  • Collaborate closely with World, Character, VFX, Design and Tech Art teams for proper integration
  • Ensure lighting setups meet both artistic and technical requirements, including performance constraints
  • Optimize lighting across environments for scalability from high-end to mobile platforms
  • Support production planning, milestone readiness, and workflow efficiency
  • Review and validate lighting implementation to ensure alignment with visual direction and technical standards
  • Maintain visibility on quality, risks, and production challenges across lighting content
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience working with Unreal Engine 5 (Lumen or similar systems)
  • Strong technical understanding of scalable systems and multi-platform constraints from high end to mobile
  • Experience with Unreal Engine 5 (Lumen, Megalight or similar systems)
  • Positive experience working with outsourcing partners or distributed teams
  • Strong artistic sensitivity to mood, atmosphere, and cinematic lighting
  • Ability to balance visual quality with performance requirements
  • Excellent communication and natural practice of positive communication and leadership skills and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
  • Desire to think and explore innovative solutions

DreamWorks Animation produces animated films and television shows for family and children audiences, creating stories and characters that appeal to multiple generations. Its products are brought to life through a full animation pipeline, including in-house technology like the Moonray rendering platform, and a studio ecosystem that supports development from concept to release. Work combines artistry and engineering to deliver feature films, TV series, and related experiences, with revenue coming from box office, licensing, merchandise, and partnerships with streaming services. The company differentiates itself with its proprietary animation technology, a large creative talent pool at its Glendale campus, and a track record of popular franchises such as How to Train Your Dragon, along with award-winning storytelling. Its goal is to produce high-quality, engaging animated content and advance animation technology while expanding its franchises across theaters, TV, and digital platforms.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$15M

Headquarters

Glendale, California

Founded

1994

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Forgotten Island opens September 25, 2026, extending DreamWorks' theatrical pipeline.
  • Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie and The Bad Guys 2 broaden franchise monetization.
  • Remote workers ratified a first union contract on August 21, 2026.

What critics are saying

  • DreamWorks laid off 70 workers in January 2026 after 33 cuts in May 2025.
  • Rising production costs and mixed-production shifts threaten Glendale headcount through 2026.
  • If Forgotten Island underperforms, Comcast's animation slate loses a theatrical anchor.

What makes DreamWorks Animation unique

  • Universal distributes DreamWorks films, preserving theatrical scale and Peacock streaming reach.
  • Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and The Bad Guys keep monetizing across generations.
  • California granted DreamWorks $24.7 million for an untitled feature in April 2026.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Tuition Reimbursement

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-11%

1 year growth

-11%

2 year growth

-11%
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