Lead Lighting Artist Job at Skydance in Santa Monica

Skydance Games, a division of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, is creating the future of interactive entertainment across platforms and genres. Our teams are expanding beloved franchises with Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, pushing the limits of immersion, and shaping how we’ll deliver best-in-class games for years to come.

We build our games through creativity, collaboration, and trust, empowering teams to take ownership, openly share ideas, and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Every project is built with these core values, turning bold visions into experiences that resonate with fans around the world.

Do you want to craft games that challenge expectations and inspire players? Come build something extraordinary with us.

For information on Skydance’s privacy practices, see the Skydance U.S. Personnel Privacy Notice located at https://skydance.com/privacy-personnel/ .

Skydance Games is seeking an experienced Lead Lighting Artist who is passionate about the cinematic and technical craft of lighting. The ideal candidate combines a strong artistic eye with deep technical expertise in Unreal Engine’s lighting toolset—covering both baked and fully dynamic lighting workflows. As Lead Lighting Artist, you will work closely with the Art Director and Concept Team to bring stylized worlds to life through mood, tone, and atmosphere. You’ll be responsible for defining the lighting vision, ensuring visual consistency across environments, and maintaining performance optimization across all platforms.

Responsibilities

• Drive the overall lighting direction for the project in collaboration with the Art Director.
• Implement both static (baked) and dynamic lighting solutions using Unreal Engine.
• Translate stylized concept art into compelling, production-ready lighting.
• Manage, mentor, and provide feedback to other lighting artists to maintain consistency and quality.
• Collaborate with environment, materials, and VFX teams to achieve cohesive visual storytelling.
• Balance artistic goals with technical performance and optimization requirements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of proven experience as a Lead or Senior Lighting Artist on multiple shipped titles.
• Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine lighting tools, including an emphasis on Lightmass.
• Strong understanding of composition, color theory, and atmosphere in real-time environments.
• Experience working with physically based rendering (PBR) and stylized art pipelines.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to guide and inspire a team.
• Strong problem-solving and optimization skills, with a focus on performance across multiple platforms.

The annual salary range for this position in Los Angeles is $145,000 – $160,000. The salary offered may vary based on the candidate’s location, qualifications, experience and relevant expertise, among other factors. The range indicated is for base salary only and does not reflect the total compensation package, including bonus, benefits, etc.

We realize that skills and expertise can come from many different experiences and paths, and we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements as written in the job description.

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