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Unreal Engine Virtual Production Jobs in California

Eliassen Group

Unreal Engine Developer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$65 - $75/hr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

Hands‑on experience creating in‑engine UI panels or editor extensions for production use ... You may receive email and SMS notifications from the Eliassen Virtual Recruiting Team ( noreply ...

Adobe

Staff AI VFX Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

Experience with real-time rendering (Unreal Engine, virtual production stages, LED volumes). * Hands-on experience fine-tuning or deploying generative models (Stable Diffusion, Runway,ComfyUI, or ...

Adobe

Staff AI VFX Engineer

San Jose, CA

Experience with real-time rendering (Unreal Engine, virtual production stages, LED volumes). * Hands-on experience fine-tuning or deploying generative models (Stable Diffusion, Runway,ComfyUI, or ...

Adobe

Staff AI VFX Engineer

San Francisco, CA

Experience with real-time rendering (Unreal Engine, virtual production stages, LED volumes). * Hands-on experience fine-tuning or deploying generative models (Stable Diffusion, Runway,ComfyUI, or ...

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How much do unreal engine virtual production jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 13, 2026, the average hourly pay for unreal engine virtual production in California is $25.80, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $19.23 and $31.06 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by professionals in Unreal Engine Virtual Production, and how can they be overcome?

Professionals in Unreal Engine Virtual Production often encounter challenges such as tight production schedules, rapidly evolving technology, and the need for seamless collaboration between departments like VFX, cinematography, and real-time rendering teams. Staying updated with the latest Unreal Engine features and maintaining clear communication with team members are essential. Adopting agile workflows, participating in regular training, and leveraging collaboration tools can help overcome these hurdles and ensure smooth production processes.

What is Unreal Engine Virtual Production?

Unreal Engine Virtual Production refers to the use of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine software for creating real-time visual effects and environments on set during film, television, and animation production. This technology allows filmmakers to visualize and interact with digital elements in real time, blending live-action footage with computer-generated imagery. With tools like LED walls and motion capture, Unreal Engine Virtual Production streamlines workflows, enhances creative collaboration, and reduces post-production time. It's widely used in projects like 'The Mandalorian' and is revolutionizing the way content is produced.

What is the difference between Unreal Engine Virtual Production vs 3D Environment Artist?

AspectUnreal Engine Virtual Production3D Environment Artist
Required SkillsUnreal Engine, real-time rendering, camera tracking, live compositing3D modeling, texturing, environment design, software like Maya or Blender
Work EnvironmentFilm sets, studio environments, post-production facilitiesDesign studios, game development teams, visual effects companies
Industry UsageFilm, TV, live events, virtual production studiosVideo games, film, animation, visual effects

Unreal Engine Virtual Production focuses on real-time visualization and integrating live footage with virtual environments, often requiring knowledge of Unreal Engine and camera tracking. In contrast, a 3D Environment Artist specializes in creating detailed digital environments primarily for games or pre-rendered media. While both roles involve 3D skills, Unreal Engine Virtual Production emphasizes real-time workflows and live integration, whereas 3D Environment Artists focus on static or pre-rendered assets.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an Unreal Engine Virtual Production specialist?

To thrive as an Unreal Engine Virtual Production Specialist, you need expertise in real-time 3D content creation, a strong grasp of animation or VFX workflows, and proficiency in Unreal Engine, usually supported by a degree in digital media or a related field. Familiarity with motion capture systems, camera tracking technologies, and virtual production pipelines—plus certifications in Unreal Engine—are highly valuable. Exceptional problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills help you collaborate effectively with directors and technical crews in dynamic environments. These abilities are vital for delivering seamless virtual production experiences that meet creative and technical requirements on set.
What are popular job titles related to Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs in California? For Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs? Cities in California with the most Unreal Engine Virtual Production job openings:
Unreal Engine Virtual Production jobs near you
Infographic showing various Unreal Engine Virtual Production job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, 9% Part Time, 2% Temporary, 2% Contract, and 2% Nights. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $53,671 per year, or $25.8 per hour.

Unreal Cinematic Pipeline Engineer

Magnopus

Los Angeles, CA • On-site

$130K - $190K/yr

Full-time

Posted 15 days ago

Job description

Magnopus is looking for an Unreal Cinematic Pipeline Engineer to help build and maintain the tools and workflows that connect Unreal Engine with modern cinematic production pipelines.
As a spatial design and innovation company, we work at the intersection of technology, creativity and emerging experiences. Our teams bring together engineers, artists, designers and producers to create ambitious work for some of the world's leading brands and organisations.
In this role, you'll work closely with artists, production teams and fellow engineers to develop tools, automation and integrations that improve production workflows, reduce manual effort and help teams deliver high-quality cinematic experiences more efficiently.
Rather than focusing on a single product or technology, you'll solve real production challenges across Unreal Engine, pipeline tooling and modern VFX workflows. From building automation and production integrations to improving rendering pipelines and artist tooling, you'll play an important role in helping creative teams work faster, more reliably and with greater confidence.
Contract
This is an initial fixed-term project hire through the end of September 2026, with an anticipated extension through February 2027, subject to project requirements.
Location
This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of two days per week working from our Downtown Los Angeles office. During key phases of the project, additional time in the office may occasionally be required to support close collaboration with the wider team.
What you'll do
  • Design and develop tools that improve artist productivity, reduce iteration time and enhance production quality.
  • Develop custom tools, plugins and automation using Python, C++ and Unreal Engine.
  • Build and maintain rendering workflows using Movie Render Graph (MRG) and Movie Render Queue (MRQ) to support complex cinematic rendering pipelines.
  • Develop and maintain integrations between Unreal Engine and production tracking systems, including ShotGrid (Flow).
  • Partner with artists, production teams and technical stakeholders to understand workflow challenges and deliver practical solutions.
  • Extend and integrate third-party applications and tools where appropriate.
  • Support, troubleshoot and enhance existing pipeline tools and production workflows.
  • Produce clear documentation that supports onboarding, knowledge sharing and long-term maintenance.
  • Participate in code reviews and contribute to the continued improvement of engineering practices.
  • Stay current with developments in Unreal Engine, virtual production and VFX technologies, identifying opportunities to improve our tooling and workflows.

What will help you succeed in this role
  • Strong experience developing pipeline tools and automation using Python.
  • Experience developing Unreal Engine tooling using C++, Python and the Unreal Engine Editor APIs.
  • Strong understanding of Unreal Engine 5, including Sequencer, Movie Render Graph (MRG), Movie Render Queue (MRQ) and related cinematic workflows.
  • Experience working with production tracking systems such as ShotGrid (Flow).
  • Experience working within modern VFX, virtual production or real-time content pipelines, with an understanding of how tools such as Maya, Houdini and Nuke fit into those workflows.
  • Experience using version control systems, including Perforce and Git.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to investigate and resolve complex pipeline issues.
  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with artists, production teams and engineers.
  • A collaborative mindset and a genuine desire to improve production workflows through better tooling and automation.
  • Experience working within Linux-based production environments.

Even better if you also have
  • Experience developing custom Unreal Engine plugins or extending Unreal Engine functionality.
  • Experience building user interfaces for internal tools using frameworks such as PyQt.
  • Experience with cloud rendering, CI/CD pipelines or REST APIs.
  • Familiarity with colour management, camera tracking, lens calibration and other modern cinematic or virtual production workflows.
  • Experience using media processing tools such as FFmpeg.
  • Deep working knowledge of Perforce (Helix Core) in large-scale production environments, including complex stream structures, branch/merge workflows and cross-studio collaboration.
  • Understanding of production and delivery codecs such as ProRes, H.264, HEVC, AV1 and VP9.

We don't expect anyone to tick every box
If you're excited by the opportunity to build tools that help artists and engineers create world-class cinematic experiences, and believe you could be successful in the role, we'd love to hear from you.
$130,000 - $190,000 a year
About Magnopus
Magnopus is an experience-focused technology company founded by a team of Oscar-winning artists, designers and engineers from the worlds of film, games and immersive media.
We create experiences that bring together storytelling, creativity and technology in new ways - from immersive attractions and interactive installations to virtual production, spatial computing, AI-powered experiences and emerging technologies. Our work helps some of the world's most recognisable brands and organisations connect with audiences in ways that weren't previously possible.
We've built experiences for millions of people around the world and continue to explore what's possible at the intersection of creativity, technology and human connection.
Though we've delivered a lot of incredible work, here are just a few examples you can explore yourself:
Metallica: Music Experience in UEFN
Mission: ISS
Alo Moves XR
World of Fallout
Daft Punk Experience, Fortnite
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere
We're proud of the work we create, but we're equally proud of how we create it. Magnopus is built around collaboration, curiosity and respect. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere, and we strive to create an environment where talented people can learn, grow and do some of the best work of their careers.
You'll join a multidisciplinary team of artists, designers, engineers, producers and technologists who specialise in bringing ambitious ideas to life. Studio work at Magnopus is varied, collaborative and often unlike anything you've worked on before, giving you the opportunity to contribute to projects that push creative and technical boundaries.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process - for example, to transcribe interviews and generate summaries. These tools are not used to review applications or analyse resumes, and they do not replace human judgement. All hiring decisions are made by people. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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