VFX Artist | Artiste en effets visuels - GameSim - Talent Pipeline

GameSim, a game development studio, is seeking a VFX Artist with strong real-time effects skills and solid technical judgment. The ideal candidate will have the potential to grow into broader lead responsibilities over time.

The role involves creating high-quality visual effects while helping teams stay aligned, organized, and efficient. The successful candidate will contribute directly to hands-on VFX production, in-engine implementation, feedback, task breakdowns, optimization, workflow documentation, and cross-discipline collaboration.

Responsibilities:

• Create custom real-time visual effects and implement them in-engine using Unreal Engine 5, Unity, or proprietary tools.
• Build high-quality effects for gameplay, environments, cinematics, atmosphere, combat, interaction, destruction, UI/game feedback, and other project needs.
• Create all necessary textures, flipbooks, materials, meshes, simulations, and supporting assets for real-time VFX.
• Maintain clean, readable, well-structured material graphs, Niagara systems, parameters, naming conventions, and reusable effect setups.
• Use tools such as Photoshop, Substance Designer, Blender, Houdini, Maya, EmberGen, or other software as needed to support effect creation.
• Work with complex material setups, Blueprints, scripting hooks, animation events, gameplay triggers, or engine-specific implementation needs.
• Troubleshoot VFX issues in partnership with Technical Art, Engineering, Design, Animation, Audio, and other disciplines.
• Own VFX optimization fundamentals, including particle counts, overdraw, shader cost, texture memory, spawn rates, scalability settings, and platform performance constraints.
• Help ensure effects are readable, performant, and aligned with gameplay needs, art direction, timing, mood, and player feedback.
• Review work from internal artists, partner studios, or external vendors and provide clear, constructive, actionable feedback.
• Help maintain a consistent quality bar across a set of effects, a feature, a level, or a small team pod.
• Support short-term planning by helping break down VFX requests into clear tasks, priorities, dependencies, risks, and definitions of done.
• Proactively identify production risks, including missing gameplay hooks, performance spikes, unclear direction, pipeline gaps, dependency issues, or inconsistent style execution.
• Collaborate closely with Designers, Concept Artists, Art Directors, Technical Artists, Engineers, Animators, Audio Designers, and Producers.
• Support client-facing communication when needed by clarifying requirements, sharing WIP, explaining constraints, and aligning on expected outcomes.
• Contribute to VFX workflow improvements, reusable templates, documentation, libraries, naming standards, or scalability rules when appropriate.

Requirements:

• 5+ years of professional game industry experience as a real-time VFX Artist or similar role.
• At least one shipped game title.
• Proven end-to-end real-time VFX workflow experience, from concept and asset creation through in-engine implementation and polish.
• Strong experience implementing effects in Unreal Engine 4 or 5, with strong working knowledge of Niagara.
• Strong particle animation fundamentals, including timing, rhythm, shape language, motion, impact, anticipation, dissipation, and readability.
• Strong understanding of natural energies and materials such as fire, smoke, water, electricity, magic, dust, debris, explosions, atmospherics, and environmental effects.
• Strong material and texture creation skills using tools such as Photoshop, Substance Designer, or similar software.
• Ability to create clean, readable, and well-constructed material graphs and VFX systems.
• Demonstrated understanding of real-time VFX optimization, including particle counts, overdraw, memory usage, material cost, scalability, and performance constraints.
• Ability to balance visual impact, gameplay clarity, technical cost, and production schedule.
• Strong communication skills, including clear written updates, verbal communication, documentation, and actionable feedback.
• Ability to interpret vague creative, design, or client direction and turn it into clear VFX tasks or implementation plans.
• Experience mentoring, reviewing, or guiding other artists.

Nice to Have:

• Proficiency with common production tools such as Perforce, Jira, Miro, and Confluence.
• Houdini experience.
• EmberGen experience.
• Unity experience.
• Substance Designer experience.
• Experience with proprietary engines or custom VFX tools.
• Scripting or coding skills, such as C#, Python, Blueprint, or similar.
• 2D animation or traditional animation experience.
• 3D animation, simulation, or procedural content creation experience.
• Experience creating both stylized and realistic effects.
• Experience with foliage, atmospherics, environmental effects, weather, destruction, or ambient world VFX.
• Experience working with outsourcing, co-development teams, partner studios, or external vendors.
• Experience collaborating with teams across different countries, cultures, and time zones.
• Experience establishing VFX standards, templates, naming conventions, libraries, scalability rules, or pipeline documentation.
• Experience supporting client reviews, milestone deliveries, or cross-studio feedback loops.
• Experience leading a small pod, strike team, feature group, or informal group of artists.

Portfolio Requirements:

• Real-time VFX assets with strong readability, timing, shape language, and clearly understandable visual elements.
• At least one example shown in a real-time gameplay context, preferably a video of the effect happening in-game or during interactive gameplay.
• Examples of strong material definition and texture work, with clean, readable, well-constructed setups.
• Effects that demonstrate fundamentals such as composition, mood, color choices, timing, motion, impact, readability, and understanding of natural energies.
• Examples of effects implemented in-engine, preferably in Unreal Engine 4 or 5 / Niagara.
• Breakdowns showing your process, including textures, materials, emitters, timing, implementation, optimization, or technical setup where applicable.
• Clear explanations of what you personally created, especially for any team-created work.

This position is currently open to candidates residing in the following Canada Provinces: Ontario, Quebec, or British Columbia.

Salary Range: $65,000 CAD to $70,000 CAD

What's in it for you?

• Opportunity to work on different projects
• 3 weeks of paid leave
• Benefits package including medical, dental and vision
• Sick Leave
• Disability Coverage
• Corporate holidays
• Professional Development