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Unity Technical Artist Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Sawhorse Productions

Roblox 3D Artist

Los Angeles, CA

$30 - $45/hr

Work closely with Art Directors, Technical Artists, and Game Designers to maintain consistency in ... Understanding of additional engines like Unity or Unreal Benefits $30 - $45 per hour EEO Statement ...

Sawhorse Productions

Roblox 3D Artist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site +1

$30 - $45/hr

Work closely with Art Directors, Technical Artists, and Game Designers to maintain consistency in ... Understanding of additional engines like Unity or Unreal Benefits $30 - $45 per hour EEO Statement ...

Bonfire Studios, Inc

Lead Environment Artist

Irvine, CA · On-site

$174.80 - $221.82/hr

You'll shape the vision, push creative and technical boundaries, and foster a culture of ... Unity. * Understand performance optimization, PBR workflows, UV layouts, and world-building ...

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Unity Technical Artist information

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$94.2K

$136.9K

$151.5K

How much do unity technical artist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 16, 2026, the average yearly pay for unity technical artist in California is $136,897.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $125,300.00 and $150,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Unity Technical Artist?

To thrive as a Unity Technical Artist, you need a strong understanding of both artistic principles and technical workflows, often supported by experience in 3D modeling, shader development, and familiarity with C# scripting. Expertise in Unity3D, proficiency with tools like Maya or Blender, and knowledge of graphics optimization techniques are highly valued, and certification in Unity or related platforms can be beneficial. Strong problem-solving skills, effective communication, and the ability to collaborate across artistic and engineering teams will help you stand out. These combined skills enable efficient production of visually compelling, high-performance interactive content in collaborative game or simulation development environments.

What typical challenges do Unity Technical Artists encounter in their daily work?

Unity Technical Artists often face challenges such as balancing visual fidelity with performance optimization, ensuring that assets run smoothly on target platforms without sacrificing artistic intent. They are frequently required to troubleshoot technical issues, like shader errors or asset integration problems, while collaborating closely with both artists and programmers to implement creative solutions. Managing changing project requirements and adapting to rapid technological advancements in real-time rendering can also be demanding. These challenges make the role both dynamic and rewarding for those who enjoy creative problem-solving at the intersection of art and technology.

What is a Unity Technical Artist?

A Unity Technical Artist bridges the gap between art and engineering by optimizing assets, developing tools, and ensuring smooth visual implementation in Unity projects. They work closely with artists and programmers to enhance performance, create shaders, automate workflows, and troubleshoot issues. Their goal is to maintain visual quality while ensuring efficiency in real-time applications like games, AR/VR, and simulations.

What are the most commonly searched types of Unity Technical Artist jobs in California?

The most popular types of Unity Technical Artist jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Unity Technical Artist jobs in California?

For Unity Technical Artist jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Unity Technical Artist jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Unity Technical Artist jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Unity Technical Artist jobs?

Cities in California with the most Unity Technical Artist job openings:

Unity Technical Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Unity Technical Artist job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 85% Full Time, 8% Part Time, 2% Temporary, 3% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 88% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $136,897 per year, or $65.8 per hour.

Lighting Artist / Technical Director - ILM San Francisco (Project Hire)

The Walt Disney Company

San Francisco, CA

$103K - $132K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 21 days ago

Walt Disney Company rating

7.7

Company rating: 7.7 out of 10

Based on 128 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

5th of 52 rated entertainment

Job description

Job Posting Title:

Lighting Artist / Technical Director - ILM San Francisco (Project Hire)

Req ID:

10152348

Job Description:

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

The 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 the Department Supervisor of Lighting and development/production teams on the design and implementation of lighting setups and lighting pipelines.

What You'll Do

  • Work with Art Directors, Lighting Leads and Concept Artwork to design lighting setups for environments, characters and interactive game assets.

  • Have a deep understanding of lightmap baking, dynamic lighting tools, image based specular lighting, indirect light probes, post-process volumes and real-time rendering

  • Work 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

  • Partner 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 AAA game development or animation/vfx/film

  • Strong aesthetic sense for lighting and color theory

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

  • Able to effectively take direction and know what looks good and why

  • Experience with Unreal/Unity or equivalent game engine including dynamic and baked lighting workflows, physically-based rendering, and basic level blueprint scripting

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

  • 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

    • Proficient with profiling tools to examine & diagnosis 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 $103,812 to $132,930 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:

2026-05-26

What Walt Disney Company employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom

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About Walt Disney

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

At Disney, we're storytellers. We make the impossible, possible. We do this through utilizing and developing cutting-edge technology and pushing the envelope to bring stories to life through our movies, products, interactive games, parks and resorts, and media networks. Now is your chance to join our talented team that delivers unparalleled creative content to audiences around the world. "We create happiness." That's our motto at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. And it permeates everything we do. At Disney, you'll help inspire that magic by enabling our teams to push the limits of entertainment and create the never-before-seen!

Industry

Amusement, gambling, and recreation

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Burbank, CA, US

Social media

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