Senior Technical Artist optimising assets, shaders, and streaming for large - scale open - world games at Side. Bridging art and engineering to improve performance and visual quality.
About the role
- Senior VFX Artist creating and implementing particle and shader effects for AAA game development. Collaborate with teams to deliver high-quality visual elements and maintain artistic vision.
Responsibilities
- Create/implement particle- and shader-based visual effects.
- Integrate effects seamlessly into gameplay and cinematics.
- Mentor team members and provide constructive feedback.
- Ensure visual effects meet performance budgets.
- Use visual scripting to drive VFX logic.
- Maintain artistic direction and quality.
- Produce high-quality visual effects that are technically and artistically appropriate for the project’s universe and visual direction.
- Collaborate with the Art Director to define the artistic vision and uphold quality standards throughout development.
- Translate art concepts and game design documentation into prototypes and implement them as real-time visual effects in the game.
- Oversee and facilitate the creation of ambient effects that enhance atmosphere, support storytelling, and bring the world to life.
- Deliver work that meets specifications and maintain workflows within agreed deadlines.
- Work closely with production on task allocation and scheduling to meet deadlines while supporting healthy work–life balance by setting clear expectations and scope.
- Supervise bug fixes and document R&D case studies in the knowledge base.
- Understand and use established organizational structures and naming conventions to ensure cohesion across the VFX pipeline.
- Provide daily feedback to improve visual quality.
- Collaborate with the team to find solutions and solve problems creatively.
- Oversee and facilitate the creation of gameplay effects that make the world exciting and convey necessary gameplay information to the player.
- Share knowledge and mentor colleagues.
- Collaborate with the technical art team and lead R&D initiatives to explore new techniques and improve pipelines and workflows.
- Work with developers across disciplines to ensure work integrates into the build.
- Communicate and collaborate effectively across departments with other leads, directors, and project stakeholders to ensure efficiency and minimize misunderstandings.
- Work with designers to create effects for scripted events and key story moments.
- Work with the lighting department to create atmosphere, provide perceived depth to scenes, and reinforce the color palette.
- Conduct regular performance and compensation reviews for staff members.
- Lead recruitment projects in collaboration with HR.
Requirements
- Proven experience as a Visual Effects artist.
- Knowledge of stylized effects.
- Shader development skills.
- Experience with particle systems (Niagara, VFX Graph, Houdini).
- Proficiency in Maya or equivalent software.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Proactive problem-solving ability.
- Frequent contact with client stakeholders to align VFX work with animation, combat design, and engineering.
- Proactive identification of risks related to performance, readability, and consistency of converted legacy assets.
- Strong knowledge of real-time stylized VFX, shader authoring, and visual scripting (Blueprint-like systems).
- Effective communication: able to liaise with design, animation, lighting, and engineering teams independently and validate effects directly in the game build.
- Comfortable working in the client’s tool-driven environment where automation, reusability, and scalability are expected.
- Ability to adapt legacy VFX assets to modern physically based rendering/shader pipelines without losing the original intent.
- Acts as a mentor: guides partners and junior VFX artists to balance artistic vision with execution efficiency.
- Passion for melee action games; understanding how VFX timing, readability, and style affect combat feel.
- VFX artists must be performance-aware and gameplay-focused, not just style-focused.
- Comfortable creating VFX shaders, programming VFX logic, and debugging complex real-time effects.
- Capable of supporting automation in VFX pipelines (e.g., procedural Houdini systems, batch conversion of legacy particle banks).
- Able to integrate traditional particle/flipbook-style VFX into modern GPU-based workflows (VFX Graph, internal systems).
- Proficiency in English is required due to regular interactions with stakeholders and partners outside Quebec.
Benefits
- A benefits package 100% paid by PCF.
- The insurance provider reimburses claims at 100% (up to $1,000 of services per year, in addition to individual or family coverage).
- Comprehensive dental coverage, including dental care.
- Employer RRSP match of 4% pre-tax, 100% vested from day one.
- One week of paid time off during the winter holidays.
- 20 days of paid vacation and 5 paid sick days.
- Free virtual health and mental wellness care sessions included in the plan for members and their dependents.
- Opportunities for personal development and the chance to work in a global environment.
- The opportunity to work within a creative team of people passionate about what they do.
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