Lead Technical Artist

About the Position
Virtuos Paris is looking for an experienced Technical Art Director who will be responsible for art content production pipelines. In this role, you will directly manage a team of Technical Artists and VFX Artists, ensuring technical excellence, performance, and visual quality across projects.

Key Responsibilities

1. Art Technologies, Tools & Pipelines Ownership

• Own the art technologies, tools, pipelines, and budgets.
• Test and validate that the intended techniques are achievable with the selected tools.
• Validate product quality in collaboration with the Art Director and Lead Programmer.
• Produce and maintain up-to-date technical reference and constraint documentation, and communicate it clearly to the team.
• Ensure consistency and homogeneity of technical quality throughout the game.
• Propose and develop tools to accelerate procedural and production tasks.
• Act as the gatekeeper for art budgets, stability, and performance.

2. Team Management & Leadership

• Guide team members in their tasks and priorities to meet production expectations.
• Support career development through regular feedback and mentorship.
• Help define and maintain a credible roadmap aligned with target delivery dates.
• Train the team on new methods and techniques to be implemented.
• Act as an expert in graphic production pipelines to advise the Core Team on development strategy.
• Coordinate technical art research with other studios through regular synchronization with other Technical Directors.
• Ensure close monitoring of the production team in coordination with other managers, including:
  • Information sharing
  • Development prioritization with Project Managers
  • Communication on Technical Artist support activities

3. Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Network with other experts to benchmark solutions used across projects.
• Provide insights and added value to both the project and the wider Virtuos group.

Qualifications & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in the video game industry, with participation in multiple productions as a Technical Artist, Associate Technical Art Director, or Technical Art Director.
• Strong expertise and vision in graphic production methods and pipelines for AAA and other projects.
• Solid understanding of modern game technologies (PBR, data management, streaming, etc.), with strong experience in Unreal Engine.
• Mastery of industry-standard graphics software (3DS Max, Substance, Photoshop, Blender, etc.).
• Proven ability to program shaders.
• Good knowledge of at least one programming language.
• Experience leading artists through a full creation and production process.
• Experience in shading, lighting, and look development on one or more shipped game titles.
• A professional portfolio demonstrating technical art expertise in rendering, shading, lighting, post-processing, and look development.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, enabling effective collaboration on both artistic and technical topics.
• Professional proficiency in English and French.