Technical Artist (Unreal Shaders & Materials)

Join Romero Games as we develop John Romero’s next First Person Shooter in partnership with a major publisher! This is an unprecedented opportunity to join a thriving independent development studio and work on a high-profile title that will be played by millions of gamers worldwide.

We are seeking a highly skilled Technical Artist specializing in Unreal Shaders and Materials to join our team on a full-time basis. In this role, you will act as the bridge between the art and programming teams, ensuring the creation of high-quality, optimized shaders and materials that align with the artistic vision and technical requirements of our game.

Your expertise will focus on designing efficient workflows, creating visually stunning yet performant shaders & effects as well as maintaining a cohesive look for the project while pushing the boundaries of Unreal Engine’s capabilities. You will play a key role in developing tools and pipelines that empower the art team and ensure assets meet the highest technical and visual standards.

This is not a Material Artist position.

This position is open to remote work for the right candidate in a European timezone, with the option to relocate to our office in Galway, Ireland.

What you will do:

• Develop and maintain custom shaders, functions, and materials in Unreal Engine

• Build and maintain a material library that ensures efficiency and consistency across the project

• Collaborate with the art, programming, and design teams to incorporate artistic vision and gameplay requirements into materials and shaders

• Optimize shaders and materials for real-time performance, addressing issues like shader complexity, memory usage, and draw calls

• Establish workflows, pipelines, and best practices for shader and material creation

• Create PBR tools to enable a streamlined workflow for internal and external artists

• Create material functions and custom shaders for characters, creatures, environments and weapons/props

• Facilitate communication between technical and artistic disciplines to ensure seamless integration of assets

• Maintain up-to-date technical documentation for materials and workflows

What you will need to have:

• A minimum of 4-5 years of experience as Shader Artist or Tech Artist within the games industry

• Advanced knowledge of Unreal Engine, ideally including features like Nanite, Lumen, and Niagara and procedural techniques

• Experience developing art-driven solutions for visual gameplay features, real-time shaders

• Expert understanding of optimization techniques and the technical requirements of game content - draw calls, polycounts, shader complexity, memory usage, etc.

• Solid understanding of the real-time rendering and post-processing pipelines, and the techniques for optimizing runtime performance

• Proactive and self-driven with the ability to prioritize tasks in production

• High attention to detail and an artistic mindset

• Excellent communication skills

What is nice to have:

• Experience scripting or creating tools to accelerate and optimize art production workflows.

• Familiarity with shader customization for skins or unique visual effects.

• Understanding of asset performance optimization and technical constraints.

• Previous experience working on First Person Shooter titles.

• A strong portfolio showcasing your expertise in real-time shaders and materials.

Romero Games Benefits

• Ownership. Everyone in the company benefits from ownership in the company. Every full-time Romero Games employee is given a stake. (This benefit is not open to contractors.)

• Vacation: Time off for vacation. Five weeks vacation per year + 10 national holidays. Extra vacation days after 5 and 10 years of service.

• Hybrid Working. Flexible working hours, including work-from-home and remote work.

• Sabbaticals: At 5+ years, should you choose to take unpaid time for a personal project, we will cover 20% of your pay provided that it is in your area of interest.

• Premium Health. Premium health benefits, plus extended healthcare coverage.

• Fertility Leave: For employees undergoing IVF treatment, surrogacy or other forms of fertility treatment, two days per cycle for recovery or travel.

• Relocation assistance. Flexible start dates, relocation reimbursement and assistance in finding housing. 

• Life-Friendly Policies: We understand that work is one of the things that you do and that life happens. We have a long and consistent pattern of life-friendly management, whether taking your kids to creche, assisting your parents with an appointment, or taking your pet to the vet.

• Menopause: Up to five days off per year for appointments or recovery days.

• Compassionate Leave / Bereavement. We support employees by offering paid time off during bereavement for immediate family. This includes loss of pregnancy, including the loss of surrogate pregnancy.

• Parental Leave and Support. Family-focused benefits include fully paid maternity and paternity leave and flexible work hours. Most people here are parents. We get it.

• Professional Development: World-class workshops on accessibility, diversity, design and more, from internationally recognized experts.

• Social Events. Regular social events such as pub nights (including online pub nights), holiday parties, barbecues and conferences, with accommodation and travel covered by us. 

• Expert Speakers. Monthly insider expert seminars with renowned creators such as John Carmack, Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider), Warren Spector (Deus Ex), David Brevik (Diablo), Harvey Smith (Dishonored), Josh Sawyer (Pillars of Eternity), and more.

• Bike to Work Program: Within Ireland, using the Bike-to-Work government initiative, employees obtain a brand new bike and safety equipment worth up to €1,250 for a regular bike, and up to €1,500 for an electric bike. The scheme covers your new bike and gear, saving 52% of the retail price of bike and equipment.