Senior Hard Surface Artist

Role overview A senior hard surface artist is needed to craft interactive props, weapons, and environment assets for a first-person horror game at a growing independent studio. The role spans the full asset pipeline, from blockout through high-poly modeling to final textured, game-ready art, with a heavy emphasis on modularity and performance inside Unreal Engine 5. The work centers on building unsettling, grounded visuals that support tense gameplay and mood-driven storytelling.

Responsibilities - Design and build detailed, realistic interactive props and objects tailored for first-person gameplay, with believable mechanical function and player feedback. - Own the full asset lifecycle, including blockout, high-poly modeling, and final textured game-ready output. - Develop modular kits and trimming workflows so assets stay reusable, performant, and visually refined across scenes. - Partner with game designers, concept artists, animators, lighting, materials, and tech art to align visuals with gameplay requirements. - Apply fundamentals of composition, form, light, color, and shape to direct attention and amplify psychological tension. - Run polish passes to enforce visual consistency, strong silhouettes, and consistent horror tone across environments.

Requirements - Portfolio demonstrating mastery of realistic hard surface props, modeling, and texturing for shipped or comparable game art. - Strong foundation in core art fundamentals: composition, lighting, form, color, shape, and value control. - Expertise in modular modeling and trimming, with an eye for efficiency and visual finesse. - High proficiency with industry-standard tools such as Maya or Blender, ZBrush, Substance Designer or Painter, and Photoshop. - Significant experience with Unreal Engine 5, including level building, material setup, and scene assembly. - Comfort working from reference and narrative briefs to translate mood and story into grounded worldbuilding. - Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a willingness to iterate on feedback.

Nice to have - Familiarity with horror visual language and techniques for using space, scale, and detail to evoke discomfort or suspense. - Additional experience with Substance Designer, lighting, or world-building tools inside Unreal Engine.

Benefits and work setup - Remote role open to U.S.-based candidates, with a posted salary band of approximately $82,000 to $140,000 USD annually depending on metro area and experience. - Profit sharing, medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) matching, FSA/HSA, paid time off, sick time, holidays, and parental leave.