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Lighting Artist

Crystal Dynamics, a part of the Square-Enix family, is constantly on the hunt for top-tier gaming talent worldwide. We pride ourselves on attracting and developing the best talent available to concept, create, and contribute to the most exciting projects in gaming today. 25+ years of history creating fun and exciting titles for the world to enjoy as well as our studio’s 1000+ years of combined game industry experience provides a rich tapestry of tested and new ideas to draw from as have established us as one of the best studios in the world to work for.

Join the ranks of an award-winning team in our Redwood City studio, just south of San Francisco. Benefits for this Full-time position include competitive salary, health insurance options to suit all lifestyles, generous paid time-off, as well as other studio and corporate perks, such as a free gym and discounts on games and goodies.

Position Summary:

Crystal Dynamics is looking for a Lighting Artist who has an eye for high-quality, “best in class” lighting and composition for real-time environments. This Lighting Artist will be working on a small but fiercely talented team to bring to life the key moments in our narrative stories, levels and experiences. The successful candidate will be able to create art under minimal to moderate supervision. Real-time lighting experience is required.

Essential Duties:

• Responsible for executing on lighting visuals to showcase robust mood, tone and sense of place
• Employ cutting-edge PBR & Lighting technology to light levels and environments. Example toolsets including Spherical Harmonic Probes, Reflection Probes, Physically Based Universal lights and advanced HDR Tone Mapping.
• Use custom toolsets and deliver assets within the confines of real-time engine constraints and programming demands
• With strong composition and lighting skills the lighting artist will be responsible for creating visually stunning, atmospheric, effective and efficient natural and architectural environments
• Conceptualize, present, and execute ideas within a schedule, while actively participating in technical and artistic problem solving
• Work with Tech to develop future lighting pipelines, feature improvements and R&D advanced lighting techniques which will push the envelope of quality and style
• Strong communication skills and a genuine interest in working in a collaborative environment of peers and directors
• Work closely with FX and Material artists to ensure lighting and shading is harmonious across different complex surfaces
• Proactivity in gathering of visual reference to construct mood boards in the absence of concept art. Self-motivated to push for excellence
• Work in tandem with the design team, a joint creative and technical effort, to build worlds from initial concept to a complete and polished form
• Passion and interest in secondary skill sets such as material creation, Zbrush high resolution sculpting, FX, world building, and set dressing are a plus

Essential Requirements:

• 3-6 years experience in the game development industry on AAA console titles (or relevant industry) with at least one shipped title (or relevant projects)
• Sound knowledge and use of advanced lighting techniques in the video game or VFX industries
• Solid understanding of lighting/rendering technologies
• Experience with 3D modeling and texturing
• Experience with Photoshop
• Expert in a major 3D application (3DS Max or Maya preferred);
• Able to follow direction work with minimal direction;
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Experience with generating light maps, pre-lighting or baked lighting is desired;
• Able to showcase a powerful portfolio with a similar cinematic style to the latest Tomb Raider reboot and Rise of the Tomb Raider;
• Maya and Photoshop experience as well as extensive experience in proprietary rendering packages and/or 3rd party editors;
• Architecture or traditional art background, cinematography and photography experience is a plus.

SPECIAL NOTE: ** A portfolio submission is required for this position. Please focus this portfolio on personal contributions to your projects. Please include a shot breakdown specifying what you were directly responsible for creating. Considered portfolios should include the following:

1. 10-15 best examples of your work (Maya renders in addition to in-game screen shots or video)
2. Cinematic or Photography examples showcasing your eye for lighting and composition.

Crystal Dynamics is an EOE and M/F/D/V employer.