Principal VFX Artist

Epic Games • Cary, NC

4h

About The Position

Epic is looking for a Principal FX Artist to join Rocket League, a live-service game with a huge passionate fanbase. You'll own FX systems, solve hard technical problems, and set the visual and technical standard for how effects work across the game. You're someone who gets energized by constraints, thinks in systems, and loves the moment when a gnarly technical problem becomes a beautiful effect in the build.

Requirements

• Real-time FX portfolio required, shipped titles carry more weight than student work
• Deep proficiency with Niagara and Unreal Engine's material system
• Shader authoring experience (HLSL or Material Editor)
• Scripting experience — Python, Blueprint, or equivalent; this is what separates a technical FX artist from a visual one
• Strong understanding of GPU performance — draw calls, particle costs, memory — and a track record of optimizing without killing the look
• A critical eye for timing, weight, and motion grounded in how things actually behave in the real world
• Experience shipping multiple titles in the game industry

Nice To Haves

• Experience on a live-service game is a strong plus
• Houdini experience is a plus for candidates who work from simulation reference

Responsibilities

• Drive VFX systems and quality, design reusable, scalable solutions that support rapid iteration and long-term production across gameplay, cosmetics, and arena systems
• Author outstanding real-time effects across a range of styles, from grounded and physical to high-energy and stylized
• Collaborate with Tech Art and Engineering to define performance budgets and hit them without sacrificing visual quality
• Prototype and validate new VFX workflows
• Set the quality bar, defining what "good" looks like for the team
• Mentor and elevate artists across disciplines; raise the floor and the ceiling

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision HRA
• Long Term Disability
• Life Insurance
• 401k with competitive match
• Robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents
• Events and company-wide paid breaks
• Unlimited PTO and sick time
• Paid sabbatical for 7 years of employment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed