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Material Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

Epic Games

Principal Environment Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

Create benchmark-quality environment assets, materials, modular kits, and complete scenes that ... Mentor artists across different experience levels by providing technical guidance, artistic ...

Epic Games

Senior Technical Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

While this position favors a materials specialist, the ideal candidate brings a generalist mindset and a solid understanding of the broader game art pipeline. You'll work closely with artists ...

Epic Games

Senior Technical Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

Create complex materials for landscape and environments * Be responsible for world lighting, sets ... Work with engineers and artists to optimize content for many platforms * Own gameplay and engine ...

Epic Games

Principal Technical VFX Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

Shader authoring experience (HLSL or Material Editor) * Scripting experience - Python, Blueprint, or equivalent; this is what separates a technical FX artist from a visual one * Strong understanding ...

WCPSS

CTE Teacher - Culinary Arts

Raleigh, NC · On-site

Culinary Arts and Hospitality I, Culinary Arts and Hospitality II, Culinary Arts and Hospitality ... Develops, selects, and modifies instructional plans and materials to meet the needs of all students.

Art of Problem Solving

Language Arts Teacher

Morrisville, NC · On-site

$43K - $57K/yr

Use company-created curriculum and materials designed for advanced students to lead small classes in language arts. * Engage Students: Actively involve students in each class for student-led learning.

Art of Problem Solving

Language Arts Teacher

Morrisville, NC · On-site

$43K - $57K/yr

Use company-created curriculum and materials designed for advanced students to lead small classes in language arts. * Engage Students: Actively involve students in each class for student-led learning.

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All JobsMaterial Artist JobsMaterial Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Material Artist information

See Raleigh, NC salary details

$29.6K

$125.9K

$148.2K

How much do material artist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for material artist in Raleigh, NC is $125,917.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $123,400.00 and $147,700.00 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 popular job titles related to Material Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC?

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

What job categories do people searching Material Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC look for?

The top searched job categories for Material Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC are:

What cities near Raleigh, NC are hiring for Material Artist jobs?

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Material Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Material Artist job openings in Raleigh, NC as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 75% Full Time, 22% Part Time, 2% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 82% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 17% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $125,917 per year, or $60.5 per hour.

Principal Environment Artist

Cary, NC • On-site

Epic Games
PC Games • 1 - 5K employees
Learn more about Epic Gamesexternal

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 28 days ago

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?
At the core of Epic's success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it's building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we're always innovating.
Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.
ART
What We Do
Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.
What You'll Do
Epic Games is seeking a Principal Environment Artist to help define and elevate the visual quality of Fortnite's worlds. This role combines hands-on environment art production, artistic leadership, and technical problem-solving.
You will create benchmark-quality work, establish visual standards, develop scalable workflows, and solve complex artistic and technical challenges. Working closely with Art Direction, Technical Art, Design, Engineering, and Production, you will help align visual quality with gameplay, performance, memory, and production requirements while mentoring artists and advancing environment art practices across the project.
In this role, you will
  • Create benchmark-quality environment assets, materials, modular kits, and complete scenes that establish the visual quality bar for Fortnite
  • Establish and maintain environment art standards across composition, lighting, color, atmosphere, materials, visual storytelling, gameplay readability, and environmental polish
  • Develop and improve scalable environment art workflows that increase visual quality, consistency, production efficiency, and content reuse across the project
  • Partner with Technical Art and Engineering to develop content creation pipelines, and maintain environment art documentation, best practices, workflows, and quality standards
  • Identify and resolve complex artistic and technical problems while balancing visual quality, runtime performance, memory usage, platform requirements, and production schedules
  • Mentor artists across different experience levels by providing technical guidance, artistic critique, workflow support, and professional development
  • Evaluate emerging tools, technologies, and production techniques and recommend improvements that meaningfully advance the environment art team's capabilities
What we're looking for
  • Bachelor's degree or at least 10 years of progressive professional experience creating real-time 3D environments for commercially released video games
  • Professional experience creating production-ready environment assets, materials, modular kits, and complete real-time scenes
  • Preferably professional experience using Unreal Engine for environment world-building, PBR materials, lighting, content implementation, and optimization
  • Professional experience optimizing real-time environment content for performance, memory usage, visual quality, and multiple hardware platforms
  • Professional experience using a 3D content creation application such as Maya, 3ds Max, or Blender; texture-authoring software such as Substance Painter or Substance Designer; and image-editing software such as Photoshop or equivalent professional tools
  • Experience developing or improving environment art workflows, pipelines, documentation, or quality standards
  • Experience reviewing the work of other artists and providing actionable artistic and technical feedback
  • Experience mentoring or providing professional guidance to environment artists
  • Portfolio demonstrating professional environment artwork, including examples of 3D modeling, materials, composition, lighting, world-building, and completed real-time environments
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated experience collaborating with multidisciplinary development teams

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience developing large-scale worlds for a AAA, multiplayer, or continuously updated game
  • Experience with procedural environment creation, advanced material systems, shader workflows, terrain systems, or environment art tools
  • Experience establishing visual benchmarks and discipline-wide quality standards
  • Experience collaborating with external development partners or reviewing externally produced environment artwork
  • Experience delivering environment content across multiple platforms with different performance and memory constraints
EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE
Our intent is to cover all things that are medically necessary and improve the quality of life. We pay 100% of the premiums for both you and your dependents. Our coverage includes Medical, Dental, a Vision HRA, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance & a 401k with competitive match. We also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents. Throughout the year we celebrate our employees with events and company-wide paid breaks. We offer unlimited PTO and sick time and recognize individuals for 7 years of employment with a paid sabbatical.
ABOUT US
Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.
Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!
Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.
Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.

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