Animation Engineer Jobs in Austin, TX (NOW HIRING)

GameSim is a game development studio that partners with clients to build games across PC/console and a range of art styles. We care about craftsmanship, collaboration, and shipping work we're proud to put our names on. If you love building environments and believable spaces we'd like to meet you. Our headquarters is based in Orlando, FL!

Talent Pipeline Posting Notice
Please note that this posting is not tied to an immediate vacancy. We are proactively building a pipeline of qualified candidates in anticipation of potential hiring needs over the coming months. Applications will be reviewed and retained for future consideration as opportunities arise.

We are looking for a VFX Artist with strong real-time effects skills, solid technical judgment, and the potential to grow into broader lead responsibilities over time.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys creating high-quality visual effects while also helping teams stay aligned, organized, and efficient. Depending on the project, this person may contribute directly to hands-on VFX production, in-engine implementation, feedback, task breakdowns, optimization, workflow documentation, and cross-discipline collaboration.

Because our projects can vary widely in style, scope, platform, and client needs, we are looking for an adaptable VFX artist with strong fundamentals, a practical production mindset, and the ability to translate creative or design direction into clear, executable effects work.

This is a hands-on production role with opportunities to support small pods or strike teams, guide VFX quality, mentor other artists, and grow toward lead-level responsibilities.

This role offers flexible work options, including remote, hybrid or in-office arrangements.

• Create custom real-time visual effects and implement them in-engine using Unreal Engine 5, Unity, or proprietary tools.
• Build high-quality effects for gameplay, environments, cinematics, atmosphere, combat, interaction, destruction, UI/game feedback, and other project needs.
• Create all necessary textures, flipbooks, materials, meshes, simulations, and supporting assets for real-time VFX.
• Maintain clean, readable, well-structured material graphs, Niagara systems, parameters, naming conventions, and reusable effect setups.
• Use tools such as Photoshop, Substance Designer, Blender, Houdini, Maya, EmberGen, or other software as needed to support effect creation.
• Work with complex material setups, Blueprints, scripting hooks, animation events, gameplay triggers, or engine-specific implementation needs.
• Troubleshoot VFX issues in partnership with Technical Art, Engineering, Design, Animation, Audio, and other disciplines.
• Own VFX optimization fundamentals, including particle counts, overdraw, shader cost, texture memory, spawn rates, scalability settings, and platform performance constraints.
• Help ensure effects are readable, performant, and aligned with gameplay needs, art direction, timing, mood, and player feedback.
• Review work from internal artists, partner studios, or external vendors and provide clear, constructive, actionable feedback.
• Help maintain a consistent quality bar across a set of effects, a feature, a level, or a small team pod.
• Support short-term planning by helping break down VFX requests into clear tasks, priorities, dependencies, risks, and definitions of done.
• Proactively identify production risks, including missing gameplay hooks, performance spikes, unclear direction, pipeline gaps, dependency issues, or inconsistent style execution.
• Collaborate closely with Designers, Concept Artists, Art Directors, Technical Artists, Engineers, Animators, Audio Designers, and Producers.
• Support client-facing communication when needed by clarifying requirements, sharing WIP, explaining constraints, and aligning on expected outcomes.
• Contribute to VFX workflow improvements, reusable templates, documentation, libraries, naming standards, or scalability rules when appropriate.

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.

• 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.

• Resume + portfolio link required.
• An art test may be required as part of the process.

This position is currently open to candidates residing in the following U.S. states only:

Arizona (AZ), Connecticut (CT), Florida (FL), lowa (IA), Illinois (IL), Massachusetts (MA), Maine (ME), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), New Hampshire (NH), Nevada (NV), Ohio (OH), Oregon (OR), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), Virginia (VA), Wisconsin (WI), Montana (MT), Alabama (AL), Georgia (GA), Indiana (IN), Louisiana (LA), North Carolina (NC), New Jersey (NJ), Oklahoma (OK), and Utah (UT).

While applicants from all listed states will be considered, the ideal candidate will be located in Orlando (FL) Austin (TX) or New Orleans (LA). Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and reside in one of the eligible states listed above.

Salary Range: $70,000 USD to $75,000 USD

Benefits

• Opportunity to work on different projects
• 3 weeks of accrued paid time off
• Benefits package including medical, dental and vision
• Sick Leave
• Disability Coverage
• Corporate holidays
• 401(k) Retirement Plan with company matching
• Professional Development
• Snacks, drinks, ping pong, and more!

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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