Technical Artist- Lighting

We are PUBG, the global battle royale phenomenon! After the release of our flagship title in 2017 we have become one of the highest selling games of all time with over 75 million copies sold – that’s a lot of Chicken Dinners! PUBG Studios Seattle is a small, skilled team with a wide range of game dev experience, coming together with a strong focus on quality and cross discipline collaboration. 

Our office is located in Bellevue, Washington. We are at the heart of a vibrant game development scene, surrounded by top-tier studios and industry talent. We pride ourselves on pushing the boundaries of creativity, storytelling, and visual artistry. Our team of talented artists, designers, and developers work collaboratively to build immersive worlds that captivate players. Our projects emphasize authenticity, detail, and atmosphere—and lighting plays a crucial role in delivering that vision. 

This position is a 12-month in-office fixed-term employment in Bellevue, WA.  

The person we’re looking for:  

PUBG Studios Seattle is looking for a Technical Lighting Artist who understands how to shape mood and tone using light. We’re looking for someone who can balance artistic intent, realism, and technical performance. If you have a passion for creating believable, dynamic environments and thrive in Unreal Engine 5, this could be the role for you. 

As a Technical Lighting Artist, you’ll be responsible for implementing high-quality lighting solutions that enhance both visual fidelity and gameplay. You’ll work closely with the art, design, and engineering teams to ensure lighting aligns with our real-world inspired environments, supports performance goals, and maintains artistic integrity. 

This role requires both creative and technical skill, with a solid grasp of how to achieve realism through light while optimizing for performance across platforms. 

Responsibilities:

• Implement and refine realistic lighting setups in Unreal Engine 5 using Lumen, Nanite, and other UE5 rendering features
• Collaborate with environment and level design teams to ensure lighting enhances gameplay clarity, realism, and atmosphere
• Adjust and balance exposure, post-processing, color grading, and tone mapping to maintain a grounded visual identity
• Optimize lighting setups for performance and memory, especially in large, open-world or high-detail environments
• Work within our lighting pipeline and help troubleshoot visual or performance issues related to lighting and shading
• Assist in the development and documentation of lighting tools, workflows, and best practices, with a focus on providing guidance for larger external creative teams in real-time scenarios
• Assist leadership in defining aesthetics for complete lighting conditions, times of day settings, and weather settings 
• Develop and improve workflow for lighting buildings, interiors, and key-areas using a mix of UE5 Lumen and proprietary lighting tools 

A Typical Day May Include: 

• Adding cutting-edge lighting treatments to our game work and modular game assets in the Unreal 5 Editor 
• Working within Unreal to troubleshoot situations where lighting breaks down, causes performance problems, or is unreasonably difficult, and working with our technical team to overcome those problems 
• Playtesting our product on different platforms to check that your lighting is consistent 
• Writing up the details of our always-improving process to make sure our partner developers and artists have our most recent knowledge and advice 

Qualifications: 

• 3 years of experience as a lighting or technical artist in the game industry
• Strong proficiency in Unreal Engine 4 or 5, including Lumen, Nanite, post-processing, and lighting workflows
• Demonstrated ability to create realistic lighting scenarios, from day/night cycles to interior environments
• Understanding of real-world lighting principles, including natural and artificial light behavior
• Experience with performance optimization and profiling in Unreal Engine
• Familiarity with lighting for multiplayer and large-scale environments is a plus
• Knowledge of shader and material interaction as it relates to lighting and PBR
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across departments

Portfolio Requirements: 

• A portfolio or demo reel showing lighting work in Unreal Engine 4 or 5, preferably in realistic or grounded settings
• Examples should demonstrate strong use of light for mood, realism, and scene readability
• Bonus points for before/after comparisons, optimization breakdowns, or cinematics work

Personal Attributes: 

• Proactive, self-motivated, and able to work independently
• Passion for video games and interactive entertainment
• Strong desire to learn and stay updated with the latest industry trends and technologies  
• Ability to work in-person at our Bellevue office 

What we offer: 

• A highly competitive total compensation package   
• Comprehensive employer funded healthcare – ensuring you pay nothing out of pocket for in-network medical care 
• Employer-paid premiums for dental, vision, short & long-term disability, life insurance, and AD&D insurance     
• Generous benefits include 20 days PTO, 12 paid holidays and a studio-wide holiday break annually    
• 15 annual sick leave days to prioritize your well-being    
• Health & wellness, video game, and continuing education reimbursements 
• Industry-leading family planning and fertility care benefits, including gender-affirming care, through Carrot Fertility 
• Enjoy meal reimbursements, and snacks and beverages for in office staff 
• Engage in regular team outings and events to foster a positive work culture 
• 401K with a company match for your financial well-being 
• Remote work option 1 day a week 

In Washington, the expected salary range for this position is $79,300-$157,000. The listed expected salary range represents a good faith estimate and the actual pay may depend on a variety of job-related factors that can include experience, education, skills, and location.

PUBG Studios provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.