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Visual Development Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

Epic Games

Principal Environment Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development. ART What We Do Push ... You will create benchmark-quality work, establish visual standards, develop scalable workflows, and ...

Epic Games

Senior Technical Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development. ART What We Do Push ... visual style across many platforms. In this role, you will * Create high-quality, game-ready ...

Epic Games

Principal Technical VFX Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development. ART What We Do Push ... You'll own FX systems, solve hard technical problems, and set the visual and technical standard for ...

Epic Games

Senior Technical Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development. ART What We Do Push ... Execute on a range of visual styles with emphasis on stylized with a high level of fidelity * Work ...

AGBO Films LLC

Lead Technical Artist

Raleigh, NC · On-site

Design, build, and maintain shaders that balance visual fidelity with real-time performance ... Strong hands-on shader development experience (HLSL/GLSL, node-based shader graphs, or engine ...

New

AGBO

Lead Technical Artist

Raleigh, NC

Design, build, and maintain shaders that balance visual fidelity with real-time performance ... Strong hands-on shader development experience (HLSL/GLSL, node-based shader graphs, or engine ...

New

AGBO

Lead Technical Artist

Raleigh, NC · On-site

Design, build, and maintain shaders that balance visual fidelity with real-time performance ... Strong hands-on shader development experience (HLSL/GLSL, node-based shader graphs, or engine ...

New

NCSU

Assistant or Associate Professor

Raleigh, NC

... Arts, Design and Technology with a focus on Visual Effects for Interactive Media and Virtual Production (Games Design and Development, Virtual and Mixed Reality, 2D and 3D animation, kinetic and ...

Epic Games

Modeling Outsource Lead

Cary, NC · On-site

We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development. ART What We Do Push ... Ability to clearly critique, mentor, and improve art and artists through written and visual ...

Duke University

Multimedia Producer

Durham, NC

... nation's leading liberal arts colleges. Through compelling photography, video, and visual ... Concept development * Creative direction * Location scouting * Scheduling and logistics * On-site ...

Duke University

Multimedia Producer

Durham, NC · On-site

... nation's leading liberal arts colleges. Through compelling photography, video, and visual ... Concept development * Creative direction * Location scouting * Scheduling and logistics * On-site ...

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All JobsVisual Development Artist JobsVisual Development Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Visual Development Artist information

See Raleigh, NC salary details

$35.5K

$104.8K

$148.2K

How much do visual development artist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 22, 2026, the average yearly pay for visual development artist in Raleigh, NC is $104,817.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $86,000.00 and $147,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a visual development artist?

A Visual Development Artist creates the overall look and feel of a project by designing characters, environments, props, and color schemes. They work closely with directors and art teams in animation, film, and gaming to establish a cohesive visual style. Their work helps guide the production team in bringing the story to life. This role requires strong artistic skills, creativity, and knowledge of digital painting and design tools.

What does a visual development artist do?

As a Visual Development Artist, your day often begins by reviewing project briefs and collaborating with the art director or other team members to align on creative direction. You’ll spend a significant portion of your time sketching, painting, and revising environment designs, characters, or color scripts, either digitally or traditionally. Regular feedback sessions with the team are common, providing opportunities to iterate and improve your work. Throughout the day, you may also research visual references and ensure your designs are consistent with the project’s overall style and story. This mix of creative independent work and collaborative interaction is key to shaping the visual identity of the project.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a visual development artist?

To thrive as a Visual Development Artist, you need strong skills in drawing, color theory, composition, and storytelling, often backed by a degree in art or a related field. Proficiency with digital painting tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and knowledge of 3D software like Blender or Maya is typically required. Creativity, adaptability, and effective communication are crucial soft skills, helping you translate concepts into compelling visuals and collaborate with other team members. These abilities enable you to contribute high-quality visual assets that guide the look and feel of animation, film, or game projects.

How much do visual development artists make?

The average salary for a visual development artist ranges from $50,000 to $90,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and industry. Entry-level artists typically earn lower wages, while those with advanced skills in digital tools like Photoshop and Maya can command higher salaries.

What do you need to be a visual development artist?

A visual development artist typically needs strong artistic skills, including drawing, painting, and design, along with proficiency in digital tools such as Photoshop or SketchUp. A relevant portfolio demonstrating concept art and visual storytelling is essential, and a background in fine arts, illustration, or animation can be beneficial. Knowledge of industry workflows and collaboration with other creative teams is also important.

What are the most commonly searched types of Visual Development Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC?

The most popular types of Visual Development Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC are:

What are popular job titles related to Visual Development Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC?

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

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

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

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

Cities near Raleigh, NC with the most Visual Development Artist job openings:

Visual Development Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Visual Development Artist job openings in Raleigh, NC as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 83% Full Time, 14% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 90% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $104,817 per year, or $50.4 per hour.

Principal Environment Artist

Epic Games

Cary, NC • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 22 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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