Do you dream in vivid colors, shafts of light, atmospheric depth, and showing only what’s necessary, leaving the rest in shadow, within an expansive fantasy/solarpunk MMORPG? Are you ready to lead, inspire, and push artistic boundaries in a game world powered by Unreal Engine 5?

Couch Heroes is searching for a Lead Lighting Artist to define the visual look of our stylized universe and create striking contrasts and dynamic ranges to bring out the true beauty of our characters and environments. This hands-on leadership role is for someone passionate about high-quality lighting design, cutting-edge art pipelines, and maximizing PC/console performance. As the guiding force behind our environment art team, you’ll set the gold standard, collaborate across disciplines, and shape a world bursting with personality, energy, and style. This role reports directly to the Art Director.

What You’ll Do:

● Define and champion the artistic vision for lighting, working closely with the Art Director, concept artists, VFX, characters, environment, lore and level designers.
● Lead, mentor, and elevate a team of talented lighting artists, ensuring both artistic excellence and technical mastery.
● Create breathtaking lighting scenarios using real-time lighting tools in Unreal Engine 5.
● Optimize lighting for performance while maintaining jaw-dropping visual quality.
● Collaborate with tech teams to refine pipelines, tools, and processes.
● Recruit, review, and develop an elite lighting team, fostering a strong creative culture.
● Maintain a transparent schedule aligned with project goals to ensure smooth production.
● Directly contribute to and oversee the creation of lighting for characters and environments from concept to completion.
● Light not only the game, but also in game cinematics and marketing material for the studio.

What You Bring:

● 10+ years in the game industry, with at least 3 shipped titles (including 1 as a Lead Lighting Artist).
● Mastery of a 3D modeling tool (Blender, Houdini, 3ds Max, or Maya)
● Proven oversight of map lighting, including completion of production deliverables from initial look development to final polish.
● High-quality standards and attention to detail for PBR workflows and lighting
across teams and studios.
● Proven experience optimizing lights and assets for Unreal Engine 5 to ensure a seamless gameplay experience.
● Strong, empathetic leadership, communication, and project management skills.
● A true understanding of how light, shadow, composition, color design enhance the player experience.
● A background in photography, cinematography, or portrait painting.
● Strong understanding of camera terminology, exposure, and lighting principles.

Bonus Points If You Have:

● Technical art or scripting expertise (MaxScript, Python, MEL), or experience creating tools.
● Knowledge of or experience creating skyboxes and digital matte paintings.
● A connoisseur’s eye for weather, clouds, and atmospheric effects.
● Exceptional mentorship skills, with the ability to teach and pass down knowledge effectively.
● Strong concepting abilities for buildings, landscapes, skies, and props.
● Knowledge of working with HDRI and lighting in HDR/SDR workflows
● Passion for MMORPGs, MOBAs, RTS, or other game genres.
● Experience using industry collaboration tools like Slack, Miro, and ClickUp.

Your Portfolio Should Showcase:

● Beautifully rendered and lit characters and environments, demonstrating deep knowledge of real-time lighting for games, film, or VFX.
● A mix of stylized and realistic lighting.
● Unreal Engine 5 lighting work.
● Bonus: Breakdowns of your lighting work, whether in-game or in cinematic/film projects