Pipeline Developer Animation Jobs in San Rafael, CA

Job Posting Title:

Senior Lighting Artist / Technical Director - Expression of Interest - ILM San Francisco

Req ID:

10152857

Job Description:

This posting is an opportunity to submit your resume for future consideration; this is not a role that is open at this time. We anticipate this role may be open in the future, but we are not actively hiring for the position. If you would like to be considered for this potential role, please submit your resume. If the role becomes available, you may receive an email or call from a recruiter.

Position Summary

ILM's Interactive team advances the studio's legacy of innovation by developing original immersive experiences across virtual reality, augmented reality and location-based platforms. Known for blending best-in-class visuals, sound and narrative, the team has delivered award-winning projects such as What If...? - An Immersive Story, Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series and the Oscar-winning CARNE y ARENA. Our work continues to push the boundaries of immersive entertainment and redefine how audiences engage with story.

We are seeking a Senior Lighting Artist who reflects the innovative spirit, creative talent, production excellence, and passion for great storytelling that defines ILM.

The Senior Lighting Artist is responsible for bringing the best out of our environments and to combine artistic talent and technical ability. You would be working closely with our Department Supervisor, Lighting and production teams on the design and implementation of lighting setups and lighting pipelines.

What You'll Do

• Work with Art Directors, VFX Supervisors, Other Department Leads to define and direct Lighting tools and setups/rigs for environments, characters and interactive game assets

• Work with Render Engineers to define and test the needed lighting toolset for the given project

• Support the development of the project pipeline to the delivery platform which may include lightbaking and pre-rendered elements

• Deep knowledge of lightmap baking, dynamic lighting tools, image based specular lighting, indirect light probes, post-process volumes and real-time rendering and raytracing

• Partner with environment, character and VFX artists in the lighting design to achieve the desired targets for aesthetics and performance through material shader and geometry work

• Work with level designers to animate via level blueprint or sequencer dynamic lighting or transitions

• Actively participate in improving workflows, optimizations and best practices

• Identify, triage, and fix bugs as required working with engineering and relevant departments

• Take final project to a high degree of polish and optimization

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years experience as a lighting TD/artist - in 3D game development or animation/vfx film studio

• Strong aesthetic sense for lighting and color theory

• Strong technical understanding of current real time lighting tool sets including atmospheric effects, post processing, color grading and HDR IBL workflows

• Team player who can take direction and know what looks good and why

• Experience with Unreal/Unity or equivalent real time platform: dynamic and baked lighting workflows: physically-based rendering and basic level blueprint scripting

• Shaders: in-depth knowledge of real-time shader implementations,PBR pipelines, subsurface shaders, and limitations of shaders in VR

• Materials: experienced in the development, authoring & organization of efficient materials via the UE4 material editor

• Fluency in working in Windows, JIRA, Perforce or equivalent OS, workload and data management tools

• Excellent communication, organization and problem-solving skills and self-motivated

• Bonus points for:

  • Strong traditional art, photography or film studies background

  • Passion for playing and making games, experience or interest in VR and AR VFX production / pipeline experience

  • Proficient with profiling tools in the examination & diagnosis of performance issues related to lighting

  • Experience with one or more of the following: Maya, Unity, Substance Designer / Painter, Zbrush or Mudbox, Houdini, Mari, 3D StudioMax, Photoshop, Nuke

  • Interest and capacity to work with proprietary toolsets

  • A portfolio / reel submission - including a detailed breakdown of your work in each section - is required with all applications

JoinILM

The hiring range for this position in San Francisco is $134,300 to $171,800 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

Job Posting Segment:

ILM San Francisco

Job Posting Primary Business:

ILM San Francisco

Primary Job Posting Category:

Lighting Entertainment - Studios

Employment Type:

Full time

Primary City, State, Region, Postal Code:

San Francisco, CA, USA

Alternate City, State, Region, Postal Code:

Date Posted:

2026-06-01