Senior VFX Destruction Artist

3 Months ago • 4-8 Years • Technical Art • 3D Art

Job Summary

Job Description

Sledgehammer Games seeks a Senior VFX Destruction Artist to develop compelling destructible visual effects for the Call of Duty franchise. Responsibilities include improving destruction pipelines and toolsets, collaborating with various teams (Animators, Designers, Art Directors), leading R&D efforts, ensuring performance and quality, and mentoring others. The ideal candidate possesses deep passion for destruction VFX, extensive experience with industry-standard software (Houdini, Blender, Maya/Max PDI, Chaos Unreal), strong 3D VFX skills for console hardware, and excellent communication and problem-solving abilities. A strong portfolio showcasing realistic destruction VFX is essential. The role is a hybrid position based in their Guildford, UK studio.
Must have:
  • Experience with destruction VFX packages (Houdini, Blender, Maya etc.)
  • Highly skilled in 3D VFX principles for consoles (Xbox, PS, PC)
  • Deep understanding of game engines, pipelines, and processes
  • Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
  • Strong portfolio demonstrating realistic destruction VFX
Good to have:
  • Experience in texturing, modeling, scripting, animation, or lighting
  • Understanding of real-time physics systems
  • Experience with Python scripting
  • Passion for the Call of Duty franchise
  • Strong traditional art foundation

Job Details

Job Title:

Senior VFX Destruction Artist

Requisition ID:

R024501

Job Description:

Sledgehammer Games is a leading developer in the video game industry, best known for its work on the Call of Duty franchise. Since our inception in 2009, the studio has delivered iconic titles like including Call of Duty: Advanced WarfareCall of Duty: WWII (2017), and, most recently, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

As industry leaders in first-person shooter development, our commitment to excellence is reflected in every detail of our games, from highly polished multiplayer experiences to emotionally engaging single-player campaigns. At Sledgehammer Games, we believe in pushing boundaries, redefining the possibilities of interactive storytelling, and setting new standards for visual and gameplay fidelity. Together, we aim to deliver world-class gaming content that continues to set the bar for quality, innovation, and player engagement.

We are excited to invite a talented and passionate developer to join our growing team as a Senior VFX Destruction Artist, based in our Guildford, UK studio. In this role, you will work collaboratively with our talented teams across the globe, including our locations in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  If you're ready to be part of a dynamic and collaborative environment where your skills can make a real impact, we invite you to explore career opportunities with us.

To learn more about our studio, please visit us at www.sledgehammergames.com

As an Senior VFX Destruction Artist at Sledgehammer Games, your mission is to develop compelling destructible visual effects that enhance gameplay and cinematic experiences for the blockbuster Call of Duty franchise. You are a self-sufficient, ‘fire-and-forget’ teammate who owns destruction VFX development tasks, proactively and independently solves challenges, and delivers high quality work in a timely manner. You also have an agile and flexible mindset, and excellent and persuasive communication skills, as you will actively partner with some of the most talented and passionate developers in the industry. Above all, we are looking for an innovative and dedicated teammate to help tell our story.

Please Note: This is not a remote role. This is a hybrid position based in our Guildford Studio, offering flexibility with a combination of in-studio and remote workdays. Permanent remote work is not available for this position. 

Responsibilities:

  • Share your deep passion for destruction visual effects sequences and use your technical art knowledge to improve destructible creation pipelines and tool sets.

  • Research subject matter relating to objectives to ensure an authentic, accurate experience.

  • Be a proactive self-starter that can independently execute high-level direction.

  • Collaborate with Animators, Designers, Art, and Art Directors to create and implement believable destruction-driven visual effects for world-class player experiences.

  • Spearhead destruction visual effects R&D efforts, champion best practices, and advocate for streamlining tools and processes.

  • Be a trusted gatekeeper for performance, efficiency, and quality.

  • Inspire and mentor others as a role model of initiative, accountability, and attitude.

  • Encourage others to thrive on open and welcome constructive criticism.

  • Contribute creative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development.

Qualifications:

  • Experience with industry Destruction VFX packages (example: Houdini, Blender, Maya/Max PDI, Chaos Unreal)

  • Passionate and egoless attitude that welcomes feedback and criticism, and enjoys working in a collaborative, iterative, and agile process.

  • Highly skilled in all areas of 3D VFX principles and techniques for console hardware (Xbox, PS, PC).

  • Possesses in-depth understanding of game engines, pipelines, and processes.

  • Ability to lead by example.

  • Impressive communication and strong problem-solving skills.

  • Proven ability to thrive in a challenging and often ambiguous environment.

  • Inspiring reel and portfolio demonstrating focus and commitment to realistic destruction visual effects and process.

Bonus Points:

  • Experience in a secondary area such as texturing, modeling, scripting, animation, or lighting.

  • Understanding of real-time physics systems.

  • Experience with Python scripting.

  • Passion for the Call of Duty franchise.

  • Strong traditional art foundation.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision Blizzard, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

Our World 

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization. 

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up. 

Ready to Activate Your Future? 

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners. 

Sledgehammer Games is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Similar Jobs

ZeniMax Media - Senior Narrative Animator

ZeniMax Media

Cockeysville, Maryland, United States (Remote)
9 Months ago
Paradox Interactive - Technical 3D Animation Internship

Paradox Interactive

Delft, South Holland, Netherlands (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Ubisoft - Senior/Mid Technical Artist - AAA The Division Resurgence

Ubisoft

Saint-Mandé, Île-de-France, France (Hybrid)
2 Months ago
Krafton  - 3D Character Modeler

Krafton

(On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
Blazing griffin - Animator (Games)

Blazing griffin

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
4 Months ago
Tencent - Senior Technical Artist

Tencent

Shanghai, Shanghai, China (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Rockstar Games - Senior Technical Artist: Performance Capture Pipeline

Rockstar Games

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (On-Site)
6 Months ago
People Can Fly - Principal Technical Artist

People Can Fly

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Remote)
3 Weeks ago
Resolution Games - Senior Technical Artist

Resolution Games

Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden (Hybrid)
2 Weeks ago
Escape Velocity Entertainment - Technical Artist (Houdini)

Escape Velocity Entertainment

(Remote)
1 Month ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Similar Skill Jobs

Welevel - Senior Prop Artist

Welevel

Munich, Bavaria, Germany (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Company3 Method Studios - Lead Matchmove Artist (Fixed Term)

Company3 Method Studios

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Remote)
2 Months ago
Epic Games - Senior Animator

Epic Games

Porto Alegre, State Of Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil (On-Site)
1 Day ago
Fool's Theory - Senior Character Artist

Fool's Theory

Poland (Remote)
3 Weeks ago
Spatial Studio - Unity Gameplay Engineer

Spatial Studio

(Remote)
3 Months ago
PlayStation Global - Environment Artist (Contract)

PlayStation Global

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Virtuos - Stylized Character Rigger (12-Month FTC)

Virtuos

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland (Remote)
1 Day ago
Vigaet - Rigging artist

Vigaet

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (On-Site)
9 Months ago
The Walt Disney Company - Crowds Artist

The Walt Disney Company

Burbank, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Bondex - 3D Stylized Environment Artist

Bondex

Türkiye (Remote)
8 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Jobs in Guildford, England, United Kingdom

Sonar Source - Enterprise Expansion Representative - DACH

Sonar Source

London, England, United Kingdom (On-Site)
6 Months ago
Brillio - For testing purpose only - R01538790

Brillio

London, England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
6 Months ago
Rebellion - Lead VFX Artist

Rebellion

England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
1 Month ago
Fuse Games - Marketing Producer

Fuse Games

Guildford, England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
1 Month ago
SEGA - Data Engineer

SEGA

England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
3 Weeks ago
ByteDance - SRE and DevOps Tech Lead - Edge Cloud Infrastructure

ByteDance

London, England, United Kingdom (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Netflix - Sr. Ad Sales Operations Associate - EMEA

Netflix

London, England, United Kingdom (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Universally Speaking - Korean Games Tester

Universally Speaking

England, United Kingdom (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Aristocrat Gaming - Senior Solutions Architect

Aristocrat Gaming

London, England, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
1 Month ago
Kaedim - UX/UI Designer

Kaedim

London, England, United Kingdom (On-Site)
9 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Technical Art Jobs

Abstraction games - Head of Art

Abstraction games

Netherlands (Hybrid)
1 Month ago
Larian Studios - Senior Technical Artist - Pipeline

Larian Studios

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Ubisoft - Lead Technical Artist

Ubisoft

Annecy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Insomniac Games - Senior Visual Effects Artist

Insomniac Games

United States (Remote)
1 Month ago
Company3 Method Studios - Lead Matchmove Artist (Fixed Term)

Company3 Method Studios

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Remote)
2 Months ago
Techland - Lead VFX Artist

Techland

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Studio Wildcard - Senior VFX Artist - Remote or On Site

Studio Wildcard

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)
7 Months ago
PearlAbyss - Summer Internship: Art_Shader/Procedural Modeling

PearlAbyss

(On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
Scopely - Principal Animator - Unannounced Project

Scopely

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (Hybrid)
2 Months ago
Ubisoft - Lead Technical Artist

Ubisoft

Annecy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France (On-Site)
1 Month ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

About The Company

Founded in 1979, Activision continues to disrupt the world of entertainment with its extensive roster of epic blockbuster games -- Pitfall®, Tony Hawk®, Guitar Hero®, Crash Bandicoot™, Skylanders™, Bungie’s Destiny and Call of Duty.®


As the leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products on consoles, mobile and PC, our “press start” is simple: delight players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.


Activision is headquartered in Santa Monica, and publishes globally in markets including U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and the region of Taiwan.


At Activision, we strive to connect and engage our global player community through entertainment. Our success comes from the passionate, talented and diverse team of people behind our world-class franchises. Ensuring Activision is an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive will help us deliver a new era of epic entertainment for our players.

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland (Hybrid)

Shakopee, Minnesota, United States (On-Site)

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (On-Site)

Manchester, England, United Kingdom (On-Site)

Shanghai, Shanghai, China (On-Site)

Shanghai, Shanghai, China (On-Site)

Shanghai, Shanghai, China (On-Site)

Santa Monica, California, United States (On-Site)

View All Jobs

Get notified when new jobs are added by Activision

Level Up Your Career in Game Development!

Transform Your Passion into Profession with Our Comprehensive Courses for Aspiring Game Developers.

Job Common Plug