As part of the Real-Time VFX team, you’ll design and help implement style defining special effects that add atmosphere and depth to gameplay. Through your experience, you’ll level up, and mentor less experienced artists on both aesthetic quality and technical skillsets. You’ll use your artistic and technical skills to help set the bar for both visual fidelity and technical accuracy.

As a Principal VFX Artist on the Research & Development (R&D) team, you will be responsible for all aspects of VFX prototype development, including highly iterative VFX for gameplay exploration. You’ll work closely with the design team to help refine the overall feel for the game. As your game project progresses into pre-production your responsibilities will also shift toward VFX style development. 

Responsibilities:

• Work with Design and Art Leads to create and maintain gameplay clarity
• Provide as-needed support of all aspects of VFX process; from set-up through production and troubleshooting
• Work alongside Animators, Tech Artists, and Sound Designers to create satisfying stylized VFX
• Quickly prototype VFX solutions that convey ideas simply and clearly
• Find creative and effective solutions to eliminate difficult problems in production as-needed
• Work with the VFX lead to create style guides and frameworks around shape language, contrast, and clarity, and animation.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of professional experience creating real time VFX for games
• Extensive experience working within Unreal Engine as a VFX Artist
• Experience shipping one AAA game title
• Experience working with PhotoShop, Maya or 3DS Max

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working with Adobe Animate and AfterEffects

When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality VFX art - including stylized artwork. And as a part of the application process, you may also be asked to complete an art test.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is the role for you!

Our Perks:

Riot has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.