VFX Lead

About Ascendion :

Ascendion is a full-service digital engineering solutions company. We make and manage software platforms and products that power growth and deliver captivating experiences to consumers and employees. Our engineering, cloud, data, experience design, and talent solution capabilities accelerate transformation and impact for enterprise clients. Headquartered in New Jersey, our workforce of 6,000 Ascenders delivers solutions from around the globe. Ascendion is built differently to engineer the next.

Ascendion | Engineering to elevate life

We have a culture built on opportunity, inclusion, and a spirit of partnership. Come, change the world with us:

• Build the coolest tech for world’s leading brands
• Solve complex problems – and learn new skills
• Experience the power of transforming digital engineering for Fortune 500 clients
• Master your craft with leading training programs and hands-on experience

Experience a community of change makers!

Join a culture of high-performing innovators with endless ideas and a passion for tech. Our culture is the fabric of our company, and it is what makes us unique and diverse. The way we share ideas, learning, experiences, successes, and joy allows everyone to be their best at Ascendion.

About the Role:

Job Title: VFX Lead.

Job Description:

Responsibilities:

• Supervise Partner Studio Work: Provide creative and technical direction to external teams, ensuring their real-time VFX and environment assets align with the project’s visual and performance standards.
• Artistic & Technical Review: Offer detailed feedback, paint-overs, and guidance to maintain consistency with Halo’s established art direction.
• Pipeline & Documentation: Develop and maintain best practices, style guides, and technical documentation to support external teams.
• Integration & Optimization: Review, test, and refine partner-created assets in Unreal Engine (Niagara) to ensure they function within the game’s performance constraints.
• Collaboration & Communication: Act as the bridge between internal and external teams, fostering clear communication, problem-solving, and alignment on expectations.
• Quality Assurance & Final Polish: Ensure all partner-created assets are fully optimized, bug-free, and seamlessly integrated into the game world.

Minimum Qualifications & Skills:

• 5 years of experience as a VFX Artist in AAA game development, with a strong focus on external team oversight.
• Deep understanding of Unreal Engine’s Niagara VFX system and real-time rendering principles.
• Proven experience overseeing external partner teams, including feedback loops, quality control, and process alignment.
• Strong grasp of performance optimization, memory budgets, and LODs for real-time VFX across platforms.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and documentation skills to support external development success.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience working on a Halo, sci-fi, or first-person shooter (FPS) title.
• Familiarity with HLSL, shader development, and Blueprints for VFX.
• Experience developing and refining external development pipelines and vendor relations.

Location: Redmond, WA.

Salary Range: The salary for this position is between $74,000- $94,000 Annually. Factors which may affect pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

Benefits: The Company offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements: [medical insurance] [dental insurance] [vision insurance] [401(k) retirement plan] [long-term disability insurance] [short-term disability insurance] [5 personal day accrued each calendar year. The Paid time off benefits meet the paid sick and safe time laws that pertains to the City/ State] [10-15 day of paid vacation time] [6 paid holidays and 1 floating holiday per calendar year] [Ascendion Learning Management System]

Want to change the world? Let us know.

Tell us about your experiences, education, and ambitions. Bring your knowledge, unique viewpoint, and creativity to the table. Let’s talk