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Unity Lighting Artist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

$100 - $125/hr

Establish UI implementation standards in Unity UI Toolkit, including hierarchy structure, layout ... Strong proficiency in shader development, lighting, and rendering techniques. * Demonstrated ...

This is an exciting opportunity for a digital artist with a strong eye for lighting, realism ... Experience with real-time 3D engines such as Unity, Unreal Engine, or VRED. * Working knowledge of ...

Experience with game development workflows and engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal) for interactive ... Understanding of lighting principles for real-time environments and cinematic scenes.Exposure to ...

Solid grasp of topology, UVs, lighting, composition, and layout, with the ability to troubleshoot ... Understanding of additional engines like Unity or Unreal Benefits $30 - $45 per hour EEO Statement ...

Roblox 3D Artist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$30 - $45/hr

Solid grasp of topology, UVs, lighting, composition, and layout, with the ability to troubleshoot ... Understanding of additional engines like Unity or Unreal Benefits $30 - $45 per hour EEO Statement ...

Roblox 3D Artist

Los Angeles, CA · Remote

$30 - $45/hr

Solid grasp of topology, UVs, lighting, composition, and layout, with the ability to troubleshoot ... Understanding of additional engines like Unity or Unreal Benefits $30 - $45 per hour EEO Statement ...

Technical Artist

Cincinnati, OH · On-site

$60 - $80/hr

... lighting and rendering.* Experience creating generative and interactive content as well as real ... Unreal Engine* Unity* Stage Precision* Cinema 4D* Maya* Vectorworks* Adobe Creative Suite*

Technical Artist

Cincinnati, OH · On-site

$121K - $145K/yr

... lighting and rendering. * Experience creating generative and interactive content as well as real ... Unity * Stage Precision * Cinema 4D * Maya * Vectorworks * Adobe Creative Suite Physical ...

Technical Artist

Cincinnati, OH · On-site

$121K - $145K/yr

... lighting and rendering. * Experience creating generative and interactive content as well as real ... Unity * Stage Precision * Cinema 4D * Maya * Vectorworks * Adobe Creative Suite Physical ...

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Unity Lighting Artist information

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$37K

$123.1K

$196K

How much do unity lighting artist jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for unity lighting artist in the United States is $123,136.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $79,000.00 and $170,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Unity Lighting Artist?

Unity Lighting Artists are professionals who specialize in creating and optimizing lighting within the Unity game engine. They design lighting setups that enhance the visual atmosphere, mood, and realism of game environments or interactive experiences. Their work involves placing light sources, adjusting shadows, and fine-tuning light settings to achieve the desired look while maintaining performance. Unity Lighting Artists collaborate closely with other artists, designers, and developers to ensure that the lighting supports gameplay and storytelling. They also troubleshoot lighting issues and implement techniques such as baked, real-time, and mixed lighting.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Unity Lighting Artist, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Unity Lighting Artist, you need a solid understanding of lighting principles, color theory, and real-time rendering, typically supported by experience with Unity and a background in art, design, or a related field. Proficiency with Unity's lighting tools, shaders, and post-processing effects, as well as knowledge of optimization techniques, is essential. Strong collaboration, attention to detail, and creative problem-solving set exceptional lighting artists apart. These skills ensure visually compelling, performant environments that enhance gameplay and overall user experience.

What are some common challenges Unity Lighting Artists face when optimizing lighting for real-time performance?

Unity Lighting Artists often need to balance visual quality with real-time performance, which can be challenging when working on complex scenes. Optimizing lighting involves managing the number of real-time lights, baking global illumination efficiently, and minimizing performance costs from shadows and post-processing effects. Collaboration with level designers and programmers is crucial to ensure that lighting enhances gameplay without causing frame rate drops. Regular profiling and iteration are key parts of the workflow to meet both artistic and technical goals.

What is the difference between Unity Lighting Artist vs Environment Artist?

AspectUnity Lighting ArtistEnvironment Artist
Primary FocusLighting setup, light placement, and mood creation within UnityDesigning and creating detailed 3D environments and backgrounds
Skills & ToolsUnity engine, lighting techniques, shader knowledge3D modeling, texturing, environment design software
Work EnvironmentGame studios, real-time rendering projectsGame studios, film, visualization projects

While both roles contribute to the visual quality of a project, Unity Lighting Artists specialize in lighting within the Unity engine to enhance mood and realism, whereas Environment Artists focus on creating detailed environments and assets. Understanding these differences helps employers and job seekers target the right skills and roles in the industry.

What are popular job titles related to Unity Lighting Artist jobs?

For Unity Lighting Artist jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Unity Lighting Artist job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 81% Full Time, 15% Part Time, 1% Temporary, 1% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 95% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $123,136 per year, or $59.2 per hour.

Principal Technical Artist New Dallas

Dallas, TX • On-site

$100 - $125/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, PTO

Posted 22 days ago


Key responsibilities

  • Prototype visual and technical ideas to evaluate direction and feasibility.

  • Architect and implement art pipelines, tools, and workflows from scratch.

  • Author shaders, rendering solutions, and production-quality VFX/PFX, and establish UI implementation standards in Unity UI Toolkit.


Job description

Tripledot Studios is one of the largest independent mobile games companies in the world.

We are a multi-award-winning organisation, with a global 2,500+ strong team across 12 studios.

Our expanded portfolio includes some of the biggest titles in mobile gaming, collectively reaching top chart positions around the world and engaging over 25 million daily active users.

Tripledot’s guiding principle is that when people love what they do, what they do will be loved by others.

We’re building a company we’re proud of. One filled with driven, incredibly smart and detail-orientated people, who LOVE making games.

Our ambition is to be the most successful games company in the world, and we’re just getting started.

This role sits within our Peoplefun studio.

PeopleFun is an award-winning creator of mobile games for players across the globe. We are part of Tripledot Studios, one of the world's largest independent mobile game companies, with world-class projects, resources, and infrastructure. PeopleFun is a Dallas-based game studio founded and led by game industry veterans, where game developers thrive on collaboration, creativity, teamwork, and fun. Our games are played by over 25 million players each month, and we have a number of exciting mobile games in development to fuel the future growth of PeopleFun.

We believe in bringing People together through Fun by creating the best in class social features and communities in our games that enables our players to engage deeply with other players. Secondly we endeavor to bring our studio teammates together by creating the very best game teams that foster healthy collaboration, incredible productivity, and life-long professional relationships.

Position Overview

PeopleFun is seeking a Principal Technical Artist to help stand up a brand new game team and shape the visual and technical foundation of a new casual mobile title. You will be one of the earliest people on the project, working shoulder to shoulder with artists, engineers, and designers to get ideas on screen fast, learn from them, and turn the ones that work into durable pipelines, shaders, tools, and systems.

This is a deeply technical role for someone who thinks in pipelines and profilers but still has the eye of an artist. You will own how art gets authored, integrated, optimized, and rendered, including the game's VFX and its UI implementation in Unity UI Toolkit, and you will set the technical standards the rest of the team builds against as it grows.

Responsibilities
  • Rapidly prototype visual and technical ideas to help the team evaluate direction, prove out feasibility, and find the fun early.
  • Architect and implement art pipelines, tools, and workflows from scratch, scaling them as the team and project grow.
  • Author shaders and rendering solutions that deliver the intended look while staying within mobile performance and memory budgets.
  • Author production-quality VFX/PFX yourself — particle effects, shader-driven effects, and animated feedback — and build the systems and tooling that let others create them.
  • Establish UI implementation standards in Unity UI Toolkit, including hierarchy structure, layout systems, and responsive behavior across mobile resolutions, aspect ratios, and safe areas.
  • Define technical specifications and asset standards, and build validation tooling that keeps assets compliant as the project scales.
  • Profile and optimize art content — draw calls, overdraw, atlasing, texture and memory budgets, load times, and runtime performance across device tiers.
  • Develop tools and scripts in C#, Python, or similar to automate repetitive art and build tasks, including asset export, import, and marketing asset generation.
  • Debug and resolve visual and performance issues, finding creative solutions within platform constraints.
  • Stay current with developments in mobile graphics, tools, and techniques, proactively bringing best practices into production.
Requirements
  • 5+ years of professional experience as a Technical Artist in mobile games, with a demonstrated track record of technical depth and artistic judgment.
  • Extensive hands-on Unity experience, including the render pipeline, asset pipeline, prefab and scene architecture, and editor tooling.
  • Strong proficiency in shader development, lighting, and rendering techniques.
  • Demonstrated ability to author VFX/PFX to a shippable quality bar, with a reel or portfolio showing your own effects work.
  • Proven track record of prototyping and rapid iteration, with the judgment to know when to move fast and when to build something that lasts.
  • Demonstrated expertise with Unity UI Toolkit — layout systems, hierarchy design, UXML/USS, and responsive UI implementation for mobile.
  • Deep understanding of optimizing art assets for mobile platforms, including memory management, profiling, and performance debugging.
  • Proven experience building tools and scripts for art pipelines using C#, Python, or similar languages.
  • Solid grounding in 2D art, animation, and UI design principles, with enough craft sensibility to evaluate and elevate the work of the art team.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, cross-functional team.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Prior professional experience within casual mobile gaming, including a deep understanding of the visual style and player expectations.
  • Prior experience joining or founding a new game team, and comfort operating without established process or precedent.
  • Prior experience taking a title from pre-production through soft launch, building visual and technical solutions from the ground up.
  • Experience automating or supporting marketing and store asset production through tooling.
  • Applied knowledge of animation systems, procedural asset generation, and VFX pipelines.
  • Familiarity with mobile graphics limitations and strategies for maximizing visual impact within those constraints.
  • Experience setting technical direction across multiple disciplines or mentoring other technical artists.
  • Adaptability to new technologies and tools, with a proactive approach to learning and implementing new techniques.
Working at Tripledot
  • Comprehensive Health & Wellness Coverage- We offer extended health, dental, and wellness benefits. Coverage becomes effective on your start date, provided your enrolment forms have been completed.
  • Wellness Spending Account- Employees receive a $500 annual Wellness Spending Account to support their physical well-being, personal development and lifestyle interests.
  • Generous Vacation Time- Employees receive 25 vacation days annually, in addition to statutory holidays.
  • Parental Leave & Family Support- We offer a generous parental leave program and foster a supportive, family-friendly workplace culture.
  • RRSP Matching- We match 100% of employee RRSP contributions up to 3.5% of annual salary, helping you build long-term financial security.
  • Employee Assistance Program- Confidential support and resources are available whenever needed through our Employee Assistance Program.
  • Hybrid Work Environment- We operate on a hybrid work model, with in-office collaboration Monday through Thursday and a flexible work-from-home day on Fridays. Employees also enjoy complimentary breakfast, lunch and evening snacks on all office days.
  • Team Events & Celebrations- We regularly host social events and celebrations to recognize achievements, strengthen connections, and build a positive workplace culture.
  • Professional Development- We are committed to employee growth and encourage career advancement through ongoing learning and professional development opportunities.

The anticipated base salary range for this role is CAD $150,000–$170,000. Compensation decisions are made based on the unique qualifications, experience and circumstances of each candidate. Actual compensation is determined based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to an individual's skills, experience, education, training, licenses and certifications (where applicable), as well as business and organizational needs. The final compensation package will be based on the specific position offered in addition to a full range of medical and other benefits.

Tripledot Studios is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status, or other legally protected characteristics.

As part of our interview process, we may use AI-enabled tools to assist with note-taking and summarizing conversations. These tools are used only to support our recruiters and interviewers. They are not used to screen applications or make hiring decisions. All candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are made by people.

This opening is for an existing vacancy.

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