VFX Artist | Artiste en effets visuels - GameSim - Talent Pipeline

About the Position

VFX Artist | Artiste en effets visuels - GameSim - Talent Pipeline

[English, French to follow]

GameSim est un studio de développement vidéoludique qui collabore avec des clients afin de créer des jeux aux styles artistiques variés, que ce soit sur PC ou sur console. Nous avons à cœur le savoir-faire, la collaboration et la livraison de produits auxquels nous sommes fiers d’être associés. Notre siège social est situé à Orlando, en Floride!

Avis d’offre d’emploi (vivier de talents)

Notez que cette offre d’emploi n’est pas associée à un poste actuellement vacant. Nous étoffons de manière proactive un vivier de candidat(e)s qualifié(e)s afin d’anticiper les embauches nécessaires au cours des mois à venir. Les candidatures seront analysées, conservées et considérées lorsque les occasions se présenteront.

Nous sommes à la recherche d’un(e) artiste en effets visuels avec de solides compétences en effets en direct, un jugement technique solide et le potentiel d’évoluer vers des responsabilités de direction plus importantes au fil du temps.

Ce rôle est idéal pour une personne adorant créer des effets visuels de haute qualité tout en aidant les équipes à rester alignées, organisées et efficaces. Selon le projet, cette personne pourrait contribuer directement à la production d’effets visuels, à l’intégration dans le moteur, à la collecte des commentaires, à la décomposition des tâches, à l’optimisation, à la documentation des flux des travaux et à la collaboration interdisciplinaire.

Nos projets peuvent varier considérablement en termes de style, d’envergure, de plateforme et de besoins des clients. Ainsi, nous recherchons un artiste en effets visuels polyvalent possédant de solides bases et un esprit pratique en matière de production, capable de traduire une direction de création ou de conception en un travail d’effets clair et exploitable.

Il s’agit d’un rôle de production pratique offrant des opportunités de soutenir les petites équipes ou des groupes d’intervention, de guider la qualité des effets visuels, d’encadrer d'autres artistes, et de se développer vers des responsabilités de gestionnaires.

Ce rôle offre des options de travail flexibles, incluant des aménagements à distance, hybrides ou au bureau.

Responsibilities

• Créer des effets visuels personnalisés en temps réel et les implémenter dans le moteur à l’aide d’Unreal Engine 5, d’Unity ou d’outils propriétaires.
• Créer des effets de haute qualité pour les mécaniques de jeu, les environnements, les cinématiques, l’atmosphère, les combats, les interactions, la destruction, l’IU et les commentaires de jeu et autres besoins du projet.
• Créer toutes les textures, « flipbooks », matériaux, maillages, simulations et ressources complémentaires pour les effets visuels en temps réel.
• Maintenir des graphiques de matériaux, des systèmes Niagara, des paramètres, des conventions de nomenclature et des configurations d’effets réutilisables propres, lisibles et bien structurés.
• Utiliser des outils tels que Photoshop, Substance Designer, Blender, Houdini, Maya, EmberGen ou d’autres logiciels selon les besoins pour soutenir la création d’effets.
• Gérer des configurations de matériaux complexes, des « Blueprints », des points d’ancrage de script, des événements d’animation, des déclencheurs liés à la jouabilité ou des besoins d’implémentation propres au moteur.
• Résoudre les problèmes liés aux effets visuels en partenariat avec les équipes techniques, d’ingénierie, de conception, d’animation, audio et autres disciplines.
• Maîtriser les bases de l’optimisation des effets visuels, incluant le nombre de particules, le surdébit, le coût des shaders, la mémoire des textures, les taux d’apparition, les paramètres d’évolutivité

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional game industry experience as a real-time VFX Artist or similar role.
• At least one shipped game title.
• Proven end-to-end real-time VFX workflow experience, from concept and asset creation through in-engine implementation and polish.
• Strong experience implementing effects in Unreal Engine 4 or 5, with strong working knowledge of Niagara.
• Strong particle animation fundamentals, including timing, rhythm, shape language, motion, impact, anticipation, dissipation, and readability.
• Strong understanding of natural energies and materials such as fire, smoke, water, electricity, magic, dust, debris, explosions, atmospherics, and environmental effects.
• Strong material and texture creation skills using tools such as Photoshop, Substance Designer, or similar software.
• Ability to create clean, readable, and well-constructed material graphs and VFX systems.
• Demonstrated understanding of real-time VFX optimization, including particle counts, overdraw, memory usage, material cost, scalability, and performance constraints.
• Ability to balance visual impact, gameplay clarity, technical cost, and production schedule.
• Strong communication skills, including clear written updates, verbal communication, documentation, and actionable feedback.
• Ability to interpret vague creative, design, or client direction and turn it into clear VFX tasks or implementation plans.
• Experience mentoring, reviewing, or guiding other artists. A formal Lead title is not required, but leadership behaviors are important.
• Comfortable collaborating across disciplines and working with design, engineering, technical art, production, and art direction.
• Strong ownership, follow-through, organization, and problem-solving ability.
• Interest in growing into broader leadership responsibilities over time.

Nice to Have

• Proficiency with common production tools such as Perforce, Jira, Miro, and Confluence.
• Houdini experience.
• EmberGen experience.
• Unity experience.
• Substance Designer experience.
• Experience with proprietary engines or custom VFX tools.
• Scripting or coding skills, such as C#, Python, Blueprint, or similar.
• 2D animation or traditional animation experience.
• 3D animation, simulation, or procedural content creation experience.
• Experience creating both stylized and realistic effects.
• Experience with foliage, atmospherics, environmental effects, weather, destruction, or ambient world VFX.
• Experience working with outsourcing, co-development teams, partner studios, or external vendors.
• Experience collaborating with teams across different countries, cultures, and time zones.
• Experience establishing VFX standards, templates, naming conventions, libraries, scalability rules, or pipeline documentation.
• Experience supporting client reviews, milestone deliveries, or cross-studio feedback loops.
• Experience leading a small pod, strike team, feature group, or informal group of artists.

Portfolio Requirements

Please include a portfolio that clearly demonstrates your real-time VFX capabilities.

Your portfolio must include:

• Real-time VFX assets with strong readability, timing, shape language, and clearly understandable visual elements.
• At least one example shown in a real-time gameplay context, preferably a video of the effect happening in-game or during interactive gameplay.
• Examples of strong material definition and texture work, with clean, readable, well-constructed setups.
• Effects that demonstrate fundamentals such as composition, mood, color choices, timing, motion, impact, readability, and understanding of natural energies.
• Examples of effects implemented in-engine, preferably in Unreal Engine 4 or 5 / Niagara.
• Breakdowns showing your process, including textures, materials, emitters, timing, implementation, optimization, or technical setup where applicable.
• Clear explanations of what you personally created, especially for any team-created work.

Strongly preferred portfolio examples include:

• Before/after examples showing how you improved an effect through feedback, mentorship, optimization, or art direction.
• A small set of effects that demonstrate consistent style, quality bar, or gameplay readability across a feature or content set.
• Examples of templates, libraries, material systems, naming conventions, scalability setups, or pipeline improvements you helped create.
• Examples that show how you balanced visual quality with performance constraints.

Please note: if your portfolio is mostly isolated effects in presentation scenes without runtime gameplay context, this may not be the right fit. We are looking for artists who understand how VFX function inside real-time gameplay, not just how they look in isolation.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a strong hands-on VFX artist who also thinks about how the whole team succeeds.

You may be a great fit if you:

• Care about making effects that are beautiful, readable, performant, and useful to gameplay.
• Understand that great VFX is not just visual polish, but timing, feedback, clarity, mood, and technical execution.
• Can work from vague direction and help define what an effect needs to communicate.
• Can explain VFX decisions clearly to artists, designers, engineers, producers, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Give feedback in a way that is specific, respectful, and actionable.
• Notice risks early and communicate them before they become production problems.
• Are comfortable working across different styles, teams, pipelines, engines, and project needs.
• Enjoy helping others improve while still staying hands-on in production.
• Are interested in growing toward lead responsibilities over time.

We Offer

• Opportunity to work on different projects
• 3 weeks of paid leave
• Benefits package including medical, dental and vision
• Sick Leave
• Disability Coverage
• Corporate holidays
• Professional Development

Salary Range

$65,000 CAD to $70,000 CAD

About the Company

GameSim is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities and evaluate candidates based on skills, experience, and alignment with the role.

Keywords Studios is dedicated to following a well-established Equal Opportunities Policy. We endeavor to create a workplace which provides for equal opportunities for all employees and potential employees.

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