Lead Technical Artist - Shaders

Who we’re looking for

• Minimum 7+ years’ experience in the games industry, with at least 2 shipped AAA titles.
• Proven track record as a Senior or Lead Shader/Material Artist on a large-scale project.
• Expert-level proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 material editor, shader graph, and rendering pipeline.
• Strong understanding of PBR workflows, physically-based shading models, and material authoring.
• Hands-on experience with Lumen, Nanite, and virtual texturing in UE5.
• Ability to balance high visual fidelity with performance optimization.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and cross-discipline collaboration skills.

What you’ll do

• Define and drive the visual and technical quality bar for all shaders and materials in the project.
• Establish a shader and material pipeline optimized for both high visual fidelity and real-time performance across platforms.
• Lead R&D into UE5’s advanced rendering features (Lumen, Nanite, virtual texturing, runtime virtual shadows, etc.) to enhance the project’s material systems.
• Partner with the Art Director to ensure materials support the game’s overall art direction and style.
• Create and maintain a library of modular, reusable, and performant shaders and materials.
• Develop complex materials for characters, environments, weapons, FX integration, and cinematics, working closely with these disciplines to ensure seamless integration across the project.
• Work with lighting and rendering teams to achieve physically accurate, believable surfaces under dynamic lighting conditions.
• Optimize materials for memory, draw calls, and runtime performance across platforms.
• Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of shader/material artists and technical artists.
• Review work, provide feedback, and set standards for quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with external partners or outsourcing vendors to ensure materials meet AAA expectations.

About the position

Hangar 13 is an internal 2K development studio that crafts unforgettable AAA gaming experiences across all major platforms . With studios in Brighton (UK), Brno, and Prague (CZ), we work as one team to bring to life narrative-rich games that keep players immersed. Each of our locations provides the opportunity to work with some of the most talented developers in the industry, on creatively challenging and exciting projects, in a diverse and welcoming environment.

Benefits

• Hangar 13 prides itself on the diversity of its team members, partners, and communities. For this reason, we remain committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all aspects of the employment relationship, from recruitment and hiring through compensation, benefits, discipline and termination.
• As an equal opportunity employer, we are also committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the job application and/or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need to request reasonable accommodation.