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Material Artist Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

Peraton

Graphic Artist

Fort George G Meade, MD · On-site

$104K - $166K/yr

Responsibilities Peraton is seeking a Graphic Artist to join the USCYBERCOM team in the Fort Meade ... Revises subject matter for graphic presentation to achieve customer intent selecting materials ...

Peraton

Graphic Artist

Fort George G Meade, MD

$104K - $166K/yr

Responsibilities Peraton is seeking a Graphic Artist to join the USCYBERCOM team in the Fort Meade ... Revises subject matter for graphic presentation to achieve customer intent selecting materials ...

Peraton

Graphic Artist

Fort George G Meade, MD

$104K - $166K/yr

Responsibilities Peraton is seeking a Graphic Artist to join the USCYBERCOM team in the Fort Meade ... Revises subject matter for graphic presentation to achieve customer intent selecting materials ...

Leidos

Graphics Artist, Journeyman

Odenton, MD

$142K - $170K/yr

... Artists to support United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) operations through production of high ... Design materials for internal and external communications, including documents, infographics ...

Leidos

Graphics Artist, Journeyman

Odenton, MD · On-site

$142K - $170K/yr

Design materials for internal and external communications, including documents, infographics ... Ability to provide support timely, accurate, relevant graphics artist support to analytical ...

Leidos

Graphics Artist, Journeyman

Odenton, MD · On-site

$142K - $170K/yr

... Artists to support United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) operations through production of high ... Design materials for internal and external communications, including documents, infographics ...

Leidos

Graphics Artist, Journeyman

Odenton, MD

$142K - $170K/yr

Design materials for internal and external communications, including documents, infographics ... Ability to provide support timely, accurate, relevant graphics artist support to analytical ...

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All JobsMaterial Artist JobsMaterial Artist Jobs in Washington

Material Artist information

See Washington salary details

$34.5K

$146.7K

$172.7K

How much do material artist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for material artist in Washington is $146,717.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $143,800.00 and $172,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a material artist?

A Material Artist is responsible for creating realistic and high-quality textures and materials for 3D assets in video games, films, or other digital media. They work with tools like Substance Designer, Substance Painter, and Photoshop to develop materials that enhance the visual fidelity of environments, characters, and objects. This role requires a strong understanding of surface detail, lighting, and physically based rendering (PBR) workflows. Material Artists collaborate closely with environment artists, lighting artists, and technical teams to ensure assets fit seamlessly within a project. Their work plays a critical role in achieving a polished, immersive final product.

What are typical collaboration and workflow processes for material artists within a game development or VFX team?

Material Artists often work closely with environment artists, modelers, lighting artists, and technical artists to ensure that textures and materials integrate seamlessly into a project. Their daily tasks may involve creating, testing, and refining textures, responding to feedback, and attending team meetings to discuss visual direction and technical requirements. Collaboration is key, as Material Artists frequently exchange assets and coordinate with other departments to optimize performance and achieve the desired visual fidelity. This team-driven environment encourages creativity and allows Material Artists to continually develop their skills by learning from other specialists.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a material artist, and why are they important?

To excel as a Material Artist, you need a solid background in 3D art, an understanding of texture creation, shading, and a strong artistic eye, usually supported by a degree in art, game design, or a related field. Expertise with tools like Substance Designer/Painter, Photoshop, and game engines such as Unreal or Unity is often essential. Attention to detail, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication skills help Material Artists collaborate efficiently within multidisciplinary teams. These capabilities ensure the creation of visually compelling and technically refined materials that elevate the overall quality of digital or interactive experiences.

What are the most commonly searched types of Material Artist jobs in Washington?

The most popular types of Material Artist jobs in Washington are:

What are popular job titles related to Material Artist jobs in Washington?

For Material Artist jobs in Washington, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Material Artist jobs in Washington look for?

The top searched job categories for Material Artist jobs in Washington are:

What cities in Washington are hiring for Material Artist jobs?

Cities in Washington with the most Material Artist job openings:

Material Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Material Artist job openings in Washington as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 73% Full Time, 19% Part Time, 2% Temporary, 5% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 75% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 24% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $146,717 per year, or $70.5 per hour.

Real-Time 3D Asset Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Laurel, MD • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 6 days ago

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory rating

9.6

Company rating: 9.6 out of 10

Based on 8 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

2nd of 74 rated research

Job description

Description
Do you love creating accurate and compelling real-time 3D assets from reference?
Are you an artist who can generate and optimize 3D models for real-time engines, and use code to streamline or expand the asset pipeline?
If so, we're looking for someone like you to join our team at APL.
We are seeking a Real-Time 3D Asset Engineer with technical art skills to help us create modern training systems, compelling visual tools, and real-time content pipelines for critical national security challenges. You'll join a multidisciplinary team that creates interactive training and visualization tools grounded in real-world form, function, and engineering detail. In this role, you'll pair production-art judgment with the technical curiosity to build tools, write shaders, and solve pipeline problems.
As a Real-Time 3D Asset Engineer...
  • Your primary responsibility will be to create, optimize, and integrate real-time 3D assets, materials, and scenes for training systems, engineering visualizations, interactive tools, and mission-focused applications.
  • You will build production-ready models, textures, and materials from reference photos, CAD, 3D scans, photogrammetry, engineering drawings, and other source material, with an emphasis on equipment, environments, facilities, and other hard-surface assets.
  • You will optimize 3D assets for real-time performance, including polycount, draw calls, texture memory, levels of detail, colliders, materials, and scene organization.
  • You will develop and maintain source-to-engine asset pipelines that help artists and engineers move content from reference material and 3D tools into Unity, Unreal, or other real-time engines.
  • You will create tools, scripts, shaders, import/export workflows, and asset-processing utilities that streamline real-time content production.
  • You will work with artists, engineers, and software developers to troubleshoot asset, rendering, shader, lighting, source control, and build issues across production pipelines.
  • You will help shape practical technical art standards for reference gathering, asset quality, visual accuracy, optimization, source control, and repeatable workflows.

Qualifications
You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...
  • Have a bachelor's degree in game art, technical art, digital art, computer graphics, game development, engineering, architecture, a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
  • Have 3+ years of professional experience creating real-time 3D art for games, AR/VR, training systems, engineering visualization, simulation, or other interactive applications.
  • Have a portfolio, demo reel, or project examples that show finished 3D models, textures, materials, or scenes based on real-world source material.
  • Have experience with 3D content tools and real-time engine workflows, such as Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Substance tools, Unity, Unreal Engine, proprietary game engines, or similar tools.
  • Have used scripting, shader authoring, or programming to solve technical art problems, streamline workflows, improve materials, process assets, or support real-time content production.
  • Are able to obtain an Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

You'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you...
  • Have experience as a technical artist, environment artist, hard-surface artist, material artist, real-time 3D artist, or in a related capacity on shipped games, AAA productions, training systems, simulations, or real-time visualization products.
  • Have experience writing shaders, tools, plugins, asset processors, or pipeline automation with HLSL, Slang, C++, C#, Python, Java, or similar languages.
  • Have experience with or interest in, 3D reconstruction, scan cleanup, CAD conversion, computer vision, image processing, procedural workflows, or real-world asset capture.
  • Have experience optimizing meshes, textures, materials, shaders, lighting, memory use, draw calls, load times, or frame rate for real-time applications.
  • Have experience with Unity, Unreal Engine, Git, GitLab, PlasticSCM, or source-controlled art and build pipelines in a production environment.

About Us
Why Work at APL?
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) brings world-class expertise to our nation's most critical defense, security, space and science challenges. While we are dedicated to solving complex challenges and pioneering new technologies, what makes us truly outstanding is our culture. We offer a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere where you can bring your authentic self to work, continue to grow, and build strong connections with inspiring teammates.
At APL, we celebrate our differences of perspectives and encourage creativity and bold, new ideas. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance. APL's campus is located in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Learn more about our career opportunities at https://www.jhuapl.edu/careers.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. APL is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact Accessibility@jhuapl.edu.
The referenced pay range is based on JHU APL's good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level with consideration for internal parity. For salaried employees scheduled to work less than 40 hours per week, annual salary will be prorated based on the number of hours worked. APL may offer bonuses or other forms of compensation per internal policy and/or contractual designation. Additional compensation may be provided in the form of a sign-on bonus, relocation benefits, locality allowance or discretionary payments for exceptional performance. APL provides eligible staff with a comprehensive benefits package including retirement plans, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, and training and development. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Minimum Rate
$100,000 Annually
Maximum Rate
$245,000 Annually

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