nDreams hiring Lighting Artist, UK

nDreams, Studio Elevation is seeking a Lighting Artist to support the creation of high-quality lighting across environments and gameplay sequences within upcoming VR projects. The selected candidate will collaborate closely with the Art Director and multidisciplinary development teams to design lighting that enhances atmosphere, supports gameplay readability, and maintains strong technical performance across hardware platforms.

Lighting plays a particularly important role in VR production pipelines, where clarity, comfort, and visual guidance significantly impact player immersion. As such, this role combines artistic sensibility with optimization awareness to ensure scenes remain visually compelling while performing efficiently across target devices—including standalone VR hardware such as Meta Quest platforms.

This position is offered as a full-time 12-month fixed-term contract and is fully remote within the United Kingdom.

Job Overview: Lighting Artist

About the Studio

nDreams is a globally recognized developer dedicated to building immersive virtual reality experiences across multiple platforms. Through its specialized development unit Studio Elevation, the company continues pushing creative and technical boundaries within the VR industry.

Studio Elevation operates as a VR-first production environment, meaning its workflows, pipelines, and creative decisions are optimized specifically for immersive gameplay rather than traditional flat-screen experiences. This focus allows artists to contribute directly to the evolution of next-generation interactive storytelling.

With one major VR title approaching release and another entering early development planning, this is a strong opportunity for lighting specialists interested in shaping the visual identity of upcoming immersive experiences.

Key Responsibilities

The Lighting Artist will contribute to both artistic direction and technical execution within the studio’s production pipeline.

Environment & Scene Lighting

Core responsibilities include:

• Creating lighting setups across gameplay environments and scenes
• Supporting atmospheric storytelling through lighting mood development
• Enhancing environmental readability and player orientation
• Maintaining visual consistency across levels and sequences
• Supporting artistic direction defined by the Art Director

Lighting decisions directly influence gameplay clarity and emotional tone within VR experiences, making this a highly collaborative role.

Gameplay-Focused Lighting Design

The selected candidate will help implement lighting that supports player navigation and interaction flow. Responsibilities include:

• Designing “golden path” lighting to guide players through objectives
• Highlighting interactive elements and points of interest
• Supporting gameplay readability through directional illumination
• Ensuring lighting improves player comfort within immersive spaces

Effective gameplay lighting is essential to maintaining intuitive navigation inside VR environments.

Cross-Department Collaboration

Lighting Artists at Studio Elevation work closely with multiple development disciplines. Collaboration partners include:

• Art Directors
• Environment Artists
• Technical Artists
• Level Designers
• Rendering Engineers

This collaborative structure ensures lighting remains aligned with artistic goals and technical performance requirements across platforms.

Documentation & Pipeline Support

Additional responsibilities include:

• Maintaining lighting documentation
• Supporting workflow consistency across scenes
• Aligning lighting implementation with studio pipeline standards
• Assisting with lighting optimization strategies
• Ensuring reproducibility across production stages

Documentation supports efficient iteration across large production environments.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Applicants should demonstrate both artistic lighting expertise and technical awareness of real-time production pipelines.

Core Technical Skills

Candidates must have:

• Proficiency with Unreal Engine lighting workflows
• Experience working with baked lighting pipelines
• Understanding of physically based rendering (PBR) workflows
• Knowledge of HDRI lighting setup techniques
• Familiarity with material-lighting relationships
• Experience optimizing lighting for performance-sensitive platforms

These capabilities ensure lighting solutions remain visually strong while meeting VR performance constraints.

Rendering & Optimization Awareness

Lighting optimization plays a critical role in VR development pipelines. Candidates should demonstrate experience with:

• Lightmap workflows
• Frame-rate optimization strategies
• Platform-specific lighting adjustments
• Efficient bake-time management
• Performance balancing across multiple hardware targets

Optimization experience is especially valuable when working with standalone VR devices.

Preferred (Nice-to-Have) Skills

While not mandatory, the following experience is considered beneficial:

• Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop for texture editing support
• Knowledge of Substance Designer
• Technical art exposure related to lighting workflows
• Understanding of advanced material lighting modes
• Experience supporting environment-art lighting integration pipelines

These additional skills help candidates contribute more broadly across production stages.

Experience Requirements

Typical candidates for this role will demonstrate:

• Professional lighting experience in game development pipelines
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine scene-lighting workflows
• Experience supporting performance-optimized environments
• Understanding of multi-platform lighting implementation
• Ability to collaborate within structured production teams

Prior experience working in VR pipelines is advantageous but not strictly required.

Remote Work Structure

This role operates under a fully remote UK-based structure. Applicants must:

• Be legally eligible to work within the United Kingdom
• Be located within the UK during employment
• Maintain availability for collaboration across studio schedules

Studio Elevation’s remote structure supports flexible working while maintaining strong communication across departments.

Salary & Benefits Overview

Compensation for this role is competitive and dependent on experience level, portfolio strength, and technical specialization within real-time lighting workflows. Benefits offered by nDreams include:

• Flexible working hours
• Birthday leave entitlement
• Additional wellness “duvet days”
• Dedicated personal development time
• Pension scheme participation
• Private health insurance support
• Life cover benefits
• Generous holiday allowance
• Regular studio social events 🎮

These benefits support both professional growth and personal wellbeing.

Studio Culture & Inclusion

nDreams is committed to building a workplace culture grounded in respect, inclusion, and accessibility. The studio actively supports:

• diversity across teams
• accessible hiring practices
• inclusive production environments
• equitable career opportunities
• representation within the games industry

Applicants requiring reasonable adjustments during recruitment processes are encouraged to request support at any stage.

Application Process

Applicants interested in joining Studio Elevation as a Lighting Artist should prepare:

• Updated CV
• Portfolio demonstrating lighting work in Unreal Engine
• Examples of real-time environment lighting (preferred)
• Optimization workflow experience (if available)

Shortlisted candidates may be invited to technical discussions aligned with production requirements.