Technical Artist - Shader

Job Description

Shader Technical Artist

We're Criterion, and we love making games!
Over the last fifteen years we've entertained millions of players around the world with our award-winning games. From Burnout and Need for Speed to the critically acclaimed VR mission for Star Wars Battlefront, Starfighter Assault on Battlefront ll and now Battlefield V: Firestorm. Criterion have always pushed the boundaries, delivering through technical excellence, outstanding game feel and AAA audiovisual quality.

We place enormous value on creative collaboration, fresh ideas, and unique perspectives. Our studio is a healthy mix of industry veterans and newcomers working together to inspire, support, and educate one another. We encourage free experimentation, innovation and exploration with regular ''off-the-grid'' time.

Criterion don't put people in boxes. Folks here have freedom to navigate their careers the way their hearts take them – we're not big on labels. Our features are built by teams who choose to work together, encouraging cross-discipline teams to solve the toughest problems.

The working day has space carved out for everyone to play games – by themselves or together, be they tabletop or video games, we love them all. Learning from the widest range of experiences makes our own games better.
Over the years, we've learned that crunching is flat-out stupid, so we don't do it.

What a Shader Technical Artist does at Criterion:

We're looking for a Shader Technical artists who can create shaders across a range of styles from photo-real and physically based to unique creative styles using a combination of creative skill and technical shader creation techniques.

We need your passion to improve visual quality along with your ability to analyse reference and concept art to create real-time renderable assets. You will create assets and develop workflows including: colour processes, textures, shading networks, VFX and screen effects that support realising the creative vision for the game. You will also help deliver the highest visual quality possible within technical constraints, optimising shaders and troubleshooting assets.

You will report to the Technical Art Director and collaborate with Lead Artists, Technical and Art Directors to create beautiful and efficient materials and workflows; along with guiding and inspiring our teams to achieve outstanding renderable assets.

A Shader Technical Artist also needs:
• Multiple shipped titles creating great looking, real-time shaders and materials.
• Experience using Substance suite's procedural material workflows and pipelines.
• Experience with physically based shader texture sets and pipelines.
• Knowledge of HLSL/GLSL, including shader optimisation.
• Knowledge of UV tools and methods.
• Proficient in the use of Z-Brush or Mud box to create normal maps, heights maps and displacement maps.
• Experience working with shaders in game engines like Unreal or Unity.
• Knowledge of game rendering pipelines, especially shading, lighting and reflections.
• Portfolio with examples of shaders, textures and VFX assets.
• A passion for working collaboratively as part of a team that pushes for quality.

What's in it for you? Glad you asked!

Naturally, we offer great benefits packages, but more importantly, because we love working with outstanding creators, we maintain a culture that appreciates creative freedom and autonomy.
• Great compensation package, annual bonus scheme and stock plans.
• Benefits including private medical insurance, dental care, pension scheme and life insurance.
• Extras like employee discounts, Rail season ticket loan, free games.
• 25 days holiday (including 3 days company shutdown days between Christmas & New Year)
• Two annual staff parties (Summer and Christmas)
• Casual dress code

We thought you might also want to know:

We're based in the lovely town of Guildford – 35 minutes from central London.
Our office has an onsite café and gym and is a short walk from the train station and town centre.
• More about our studio: http://criteriongames.com/
• More about our location: https://www.ea.com/careers/careers-overview/guildford

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gw22yg-18-191-228-88-42 in your application.