This senior-level role bridges the gap between creative vision and global execution, positioning you as a key technical leader within People Can Fly’s international production pipeline. If you are browsing Montreal jobs looking for a career move that combines high-level artistic ownership with international studio collaboration, this position offers an unparalleled opportunity.
You will be instrumental in ensuring that distributed development partners hit the exact aesthetic benchmarks and engine performance metrics required for a premier AAA action title. Montreal jobs
In this position (Lighting Artist), you will not only act as a world-class individual contributor creating breathtaking illumination setups, but you will also serve as the principal guardian of visual quality, engine performance, and stylistic consistency across multiple distributed external studios (XDev). You will author the technical blueprints and benchmarks that external partners rely on, offering critical aesthetic and technical oversight during every production phase.Montreal jobs
The ideal candidate possesses an expert-level command of Unreal Engine’s advanced rendering pipelines, a deep mathematical and artistic comprehension of light behavior, and the communication prowess necessary to guide co-development teams across varying time zones and cultures.
Montreal Job Overview : Lighting Artist
| Category | Details |
| Studio | People Can Fly (PCF) |
| Project | Unannounced AAA Action Project (Shared portfolio lineage: Gears of War: E-Day, Project Echo, Lost Rift) |
| Department | Art Department |
| Location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Remote / Hybrid Flexibility) |
| Work Setup | 100% Full Remote Eligible (Distributed Global Workforce) |
| Employment Type | Full-time |
| Core Focus | External Development (XDev) Auditing, Real-Time & Cinematic Lighting, Visual Quality Control |
| Key Software | Unreal Engine, Jira, Confluence, Profiling Tools (RenderDoc, Unreal Insights) |
| Platform Target | Current-Generation Consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X|S) and High-End PC |
| Language | English (Professional written and verbal fluency) |
Core Responsibilities as Lighting Artist
External Development (XDev) & Pipeline Management
- Workflow Standardization: Establish, document, and formalize external partner workflows from scratch. You will author comprehensive technical briefs, style guides, and master scene benchmarks to definitively communicate the project’s lighting standards.
- Artistic & Technical Auditing: Provide rigorous, constructive, and highly targeted feedback (visual paint-overs, video breakdowns, and technical documentation) across all milestones to ensure external deliverables align with internal references.
- Performance Gatekeeping: Audit incoming external assets and scenes to ensure strict adherence to engine rendering budgets, draw call limits, and platform-specific memory constraints.
- Tracking & Feedback Loops: Leverage industry-standard production tracking tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, ShotGrid) to manage clear feedback loops, verify technical bug fixes, and sign off on completed external submissions.
Creative Lighting Execution & Narrative World-Building
- Atmospheric Directing: Architect compelling real-time and cinematic lighting setups that establish immediate emotional mood, support environmental storytelling, and reinforce world-building cohesion.
- Gameplay Readability: Partner closely with Level Designers to deploy strategic lighting cues that guide player navigation, highlight critical combat paths, and optimize gameplay visibility without sacrificing artistic intent.
- Cinematic & VFX Integration: Collaborate dynamically with the internal Visual Effects (VFX) and Cinematic departments to author premier lighting configurations for high-fidelity cutscenes, dramatic set-pieces, and intense on-screen action sequences.
- Technical Asset Creation: Design, test, and implement proprietary light objects, customized material functions, high-dynamic-range (HDR) skyboxes, and specialized Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) light profiles to elevate scene authenticity.
Optimization, R&D, and Tech Art Collaboration
- Rendering Innovation: Stay at the absolute forefront of modern global illumination advancements. Research, prototype, and implement cutting-edge workflows utilizing both baked lightmaps and fully dynamic real-time rendering systems.
- Performance Bottleneck Elimination: Deeply analyze complex 3D scenes to identify runtime bottlenecks, optimize light sources (shadow-casting parameters, attenuation radii, and channel overlap), and ensure high-framerate execution on current-generation consoles.
- Tooling & Engine Engineering: Partner with Technical Art, Core Engine, and Programming teams to discover, debug, and eliminate hardware-specific lighting artifacts while expanding internal toolsets to maximize team efficiency.
Required Qualifications for Lighting Artist job
Professional Experience & Production Savvy
- Industry Tenure: A minimum of 5 years of professional video game industry experience dedicated specifically to environment lighting, technical art, or look-development pipelines within a AAA production landscape.
- Shipped Portfolio: At least one, ideally multiple, shipped commercial AAA titles on current-generation console hardware (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) or PC, demonstrating a verifiable track record from pre-production to final certification.
- Global Collaboration: Proven experience managing communication pipelines across distributed remote teams, distinct cultural contexts, and disparate global time zones.
Technical & Artistic Skillsets
- Unreal Engine Mastery: Expert-level production knowledge of the Unreal Engine ecosystem. Candidates must show an active interest in emerging engine trends, historical rendering modifications, and upcoming pipeline releases.
- Illumination Principles: A highly critical artistic eye for environmental depth, atmospheric perspective, color theory, exposure value structures, and real-world cinematography principles.
- Technical Asset Generation: Comprehensive understanding of the creation and deployment of technical lighting assets, including custom shader networks, material functions, scripts, IES data, and HDR maps.
- GI Workflows: In-depth, practical mastery of modern global illumination techniques, displaying equal comfort handling legacy baked lightmap baking platforms (such as Lightmass) and advanced real-time dynamic lighting matrices.
- Console Optimization: Sophisticated knowledge of console GPU/CPU limitations, profiling tools (such as Unreal Insights, RenderDoc, or PIX), and optimization strategies required to maintain memory budgets.
Leadership & Soft Skills
- Communication: Exceptional verbal and written English communication skills, allowing for the articulation of nuanced artistic feedback and technical specifications across diverse internal and external departments.
- Ownership & Drive: Highly self-motivated with an acute sense of personal accountability, an ironclad professional work ethic, and the ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment.
- Passion: A profound, authentic passion for video games and an enduring drive to push the creative limits of interactive entertainment.
What We Offer , Montreal jobs
People Can Fly stands out among competitive Montreal jobs by providing an elite corporate benefits structure that fully supports our employees’ health, financial stability, and work-life balance. Our comprehensive package includes:
Comprehensive Health & Wellness
- 100% Studio-Paid Healthcare: Comprehensive health and wellness insurance premium package entirely funded by PCF. Our insurance framework provides a 100% reimbursement rate on claims, allowing up to $500 per specific service category annually, available for both individual or full family coverage.
- Full Dental & Orthodontics: All-inclusive dental insurance covering routine preventative care, major restorative procedures, and professional orthodontic services.
- Virtual Care & Mental Well-being: Free, on-demand virtual health consultations and professional mental well-being support sessions accessible 24/7 for employees and their legal dependents.
Financial Security & Time Off
- Immediate RRSP Matching: An industry-leading Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) matching program, matching up to 4% of your salary before tax deductions, featuring 100% immediate vesting from day one.
- Competitive Pay & Bonuses: Highly competitive base salary structures accompanied by performance-tied annual studio bonus programs.
- Generous Paid Leave: 20 days of paid vacation annually, plus 5 dedicated paid sick days to ensure ample personal downtime.
- Paid Winter Shutdown: A full week of additional studio-wide paid time off during the winter holiday season, keeping the entire team rested and refreshed.
Career Growth & Culture
- Global Exposure: Robust personal and career development opportunities with the unique chance to make a definitive structural impact within a genuinely global independent AAA studio.
- Creative Community: An inclusive, highly creative workplace filled with deeply passionate, welcoming, and like-minded professionals who share a profound love for the art of game creation.
How to Apply
If you are evaluating Montreal jobs and are ready to advance your career as an accomplished Lighting Artist who enjoys both technical execution and the leadership dynamics of global co-development, we want to look at your work. Please submit your digital application via our careers channel. Your application must include an up-to-date CV alongside a link to an active digital portfolio, breakdown video, or professional showreel.
Portfolios must highlight extensive real-time engine work, displaying a masterful grasp of composition, lighting breakdowns (before/after optimization profiles), material setups, and ambient environmental storytelling.
