Technical Artist (Contract) - Multiplayer Horror Title

We're an indie studio building a multiplayer horror experience steeped in psychological and supernatural dread, and we're looking for a talented Technical Artist to join our team on a full-time contract basis.

In this crucial role, you'll be the bridge between artistic vision and technical implementation, ensuring our game delivers an immersive and performant experience for all players. You'll report directly to our Technical Art Director and play a key part in bringing our chilling world to life.

What You'll Do:

• Core Optimization: Oversee and optimize rendering performance, including automated periodical performance tests. Manage shader complexity, GPU/CPU rendering time, and memory usage (VRAM and RAM), making informed trade-offs for low-end PC optimization.
• Content Optimization: Optimize Niagara systems, textures, models, and collisions to maximize performance without sacrificing visual fidelity.
• Performance Focus: Ensure our Unreal Engine 5.5 game runs smoothly on a variety of hardware, with a target of GeForce 1660 / 2GB VRAM / 8GB RAM (recommended) and GeForce 1060 / 4GB VRAM / 4GB RAM (minimum).
• Multiplayer Awareness: Understand streaming and networking aspects (replication, etc.) relevant to multiplayer game optimization.
• Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Work closely with our Design, Development, and Art teams to resolve technical and artistic challenges.

What We're Looking For:

• Proven experience as a Technical Artist with a strong portfolio showcasing optimization expertise.
• Deep understanding of Unreal Engine 5.5's rendering pipeline and optimization methodologies.
• Ability to balance visual quality with performance targets.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a knack for bridging technical and artistic knowledge gaps.
• Familiarity with Jira, Slack, and common file versioning systems (e.g., Plastic SCM, Git).
• A strong passion for horror games is a plus!
• Proficiency in Blueprint scripting, with knowledge of SOLID and OOP principles, is a nice to have.
• Experience in creating useful Blutilities (Blueprint utilities/tools) is a nice to have.
• Knowing Python is a significant plus.

Project & Work Environment:

• Our current target for Early Access release is October, with a strong possibility of extending the production cycle. You'll be integral to our core development teams, helping them optimize content and troubleshoot technical art issues.
• You will be expected to use your own software and hardware tools for this role.
• We operate with core collaboration hours from 10:00-14:00 (GMT+3 time zone) to ensure effective teamwork.
• If you're a proactive problem-solver with a keen eye for both aesthetics and efficiency, and you're excited by the prospect of optimizing a unique multiplayer horror experience, we'd love to hear from you!

To Apply:
Please submit your resume and portfolio showcasing relevant technical art and optimization work. In your application, please also include your current availability and your preferred monthly salary range in USD for this full-time contractor role.