About the Position

We're seeking a Senior VFX Artist for our Unpublished R&D Product team in Shanghai, China to create stunning in-game visual effects.

Responsibilities

Partner with fellow Senior VFX Artists, the Art Director, and cross-functional leaders to establish and continuously improve VFX visual standards, production guidelines, and quality goals.
Lead early visual exploration, defining timing, color, composition, motion, layering, and readability, and translating creative direction into actionable production standards.
Create high-quality in-game VFX using Unreal Engine and related real-time VFX toolchains, contributing across the full process from creative exploration and prototyping through final implementation and iteration.
Solve complex artistic and technical challenges while exploring new VFX techniques, workflows, and tools that improve the team's visual quality and production efficiency.
Collaborate closely with Gameplay Design, Animation, Technical Art, Engineering, Narrative, and other partner teams to clarify goals, align expectations, and ensure that the visual experience supports gameplay.
Provide clear, specific, and actionable feedback to internal artists and external partners, including demonstrations, revision guidance, and paintovers when needed, ensuring that final work meets the project's visual direction and readability standards.
Partner with Technical Art and Engineering to support performance, asset standards, runtime stability, and cross-scenario adaptability, and help drive timely resolution of VFX-related technical issues.
Help develop team workflows, training materials, and shared knowledge that enable new team members and external partners to understand and meet project standards.

Requirements

8+ years of professional experience in game VFX or real-time visual effects, with experience shipping or developing full game projects.
Strong command of VFX and art fundamentals, including timing, rhythm, color, composition, motion, layering, material expression, and visual readability.
Strong aesthetic judgment and visual communication skills, with the ability to create and iterate efficiently within an established art direction.
Experience with Unreal Engine and real-time VFX production workflows; experience with Niagara or comparable tools is a plus.
Ability to translate abstract creative goals into clear visual solutions, production standards, and actionable feedback.
Strong cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines, cultures, and regions.
Fluency in Mandarin Chinese.

Nice to Have

Experience establishing VFX guidelines, quality standards, or production workflows from the ground up.
Experience managing external partners, mentoring partner teams, or collaborating with distributed teams.
Familiarity with Houdini, Substance, Photoshop, Maya, Blender, or other relevant tools.
Fluency in English.

We Offer

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

About the Company

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to critical and player acclaim. As the most played video game in the world, over 100 million play every month. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience.

Senior VFX Artist - Unpublished R&D Product

Job description