Lead Lighting Artist

The role

The Lead Lighting Artist will supervise the lighting department and work with the Technical Art Director to maintain visual standards. You will define best practices, mentor the team, and balance leadership with hands-on content creation for lighting levels and cinematics.

What you will do

• Work with the Art Director and Technical Art Director to plan and scope lighting needs
• Define and maintain best practices and workflows for real-time lighting
• Lead and mentor the lighting team
• Establish artistic and technical lighting targets for in-house and external teams
• Balance leadership tasks with hands-on content creation
• Support lighting team members in daily tasks
• Review lighting work regularly with technical and artistic feedback
• Ensure consistency in lighting style and quality across the project
• Collaborate with other departments to meet visual, gameplay, and technical needs
• Drive conversations with Graphics Programmers regarding lighting features

Required qualifications

• Shipped at least one PC/Console title as a Lead Lighting Artist
• 8+ years of experience in AAA game development (PC and/or console)
• Expert knowledge of real-time lighting techniques and physically based rendering (PBR)
• Strong experience with node-based shaders related to lighting
• Good understanding of scripting for lighting interactions
• Deep understanding of how lighting supports gameplay, storytelling, and mood
• Ability to optimize lighting for performance and memory budgets
• Strong eye for aesthetics, color theory, and composition
• Familiarity with version control systems like Perforce
• Experience with project management tools like Jira
• Fluent written and verbal English skills
• A genuine passion for video games

Nice to have

• Experience with Unreal Engine or a proprietary AAA engine
• Background in cinematic lighting or photography
• Experience working with global illumination and ray tracing systems

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• benefits
• healthcare
• Nordic work-life balance
• Tailored immigration and relocation package to help you get settled into Finland
• State-of-the-art studio facilities in the heart of Helsinki
• Freedom, flexibility and openness in a collaborative culture
• Brilliant, diverse and empathetic colleagues to work with
• Exciting and ambitious projects executed with the best tools
• Access to PlayStation Studios collaboration, games and more!

Before you apply

• A portfolio with a detailed breakdown showcasing high-end, real-time lighting work is required
• Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage

About the company

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand and a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Housemarque is looking for a Lead Lighting Artist to join their team.