Mid/ Senior Tech Artist - Unreal Engine 5
Location: Remote
Contract: Contratto a partita IVA / Independent Contractor (B2B).
Working language: Good communication skills in Italian and/or English.
Estimated production window: around 6 months
Project: Don’t Talk About: La Masciara. First-person narrative horror Vertical Slice
Studio: First Door Studios
About First Door Studios
First Door Studios is an independent game studio based in Italy.
We are currently developing our first title, Don’t Talk About: La Masciara, a first-person narrative horror experience rooted in Southern Italian folklore, documentary realism and psychological tension.
More about the studio:
firstdoorstudios.com
Social: @firstdoorstudios
About the role
We are looking for a mid/senior Tech Artist for the Vertical Slice of a first-person narrative horror game currently in development in Unreal Engine 5.
The role will be central to the project’s technical and visual pipeline, working closely with game design, environment art, animation and gameplay programming to integrate mechanics, shaders, VFX, lighting and visual feedback directly into the gameplay experience.
We are looking for someone who can help translate gameplay states, physical interactions and supernatural events into readable, atmospheric and technically solid visual feedback.
You will work closely with the Gameplay Programmer, Sound Designer, Level Designer, Animator and Creative Director to make the Vertical Slice visually readable, emotionally effective and technically stable.
Proven experience with at least one published/shipped commercial title (PC or Console) Is needed.
The Vertical Slice focuses heavily on:
- dynamic shaders and materials
- atmospheric and interactive VFX
- gameplay-driven visual systems
- realistic and cinematic lighting
- visual feedback linked to gameplay states
Required skills
- Strong knowledge of the Unreal Engine 5 Material Editor.
- Advanced experience with complex shaders, Dynamic Material Instances, procedural masks, layered materials and parameter-driven workflows.
- Strong Niagara experience for atmospheric and gameplay-driven realtime VFX.
- Familiarity with advanced rendering techniques such as Stencil Buffer, portal/window rendering, in-engine compositing or equivalent solutions.
- Good understanding of dynamic lighting, Lumen and optimization for dark environments.
- Ability to sync materials and VFX with Blueprint systems, Sequencer and gameplay events.
- Experience exposing shader/VFX parameters cleanly for tuning by design and programming.
- Strong artistic sensibility for realism, atmosphere and cinematic presentation.
- Solid technical problem-solving and iterative prototyping mindset.
- Ability to work autonomously while staying aligned with a small remote team.
- Ability to communicate clearly in Italian and/or English.
Nice to have
- Experience with UE5 Substrate.
- Experience working on horror, immersive sim or atmospheric first-person games.
- Familiarity with cinematic pipelines in Unreal Engine 5.
- Experience creating visual systems that support gameplay readability.
- Experience working with first-person body/hand materials, damage states or character-driven shader feedback.
Production model
The estimated production window for the Vertical Slice is around 6 months.
This is a milestone-based collaboration, not a full-time daily position. Workload for each team member may vary depending on the production phase, dependencies and specific deliverables required at each milestone.
We are looking for collaborators who can remain available and responsive during production, while working in an output-oriented way.
The project is structured around three main cross-discipline milestones:
- M1 - Prototype & Risk Validation
- M2 - Integration, Art Pass & Playable Vertical Slice
- M3 - Polish, Optimization & Final Delivery
Payment is milestone-based, with a 30 / 30 / 40 payment structure.
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a short introductory call before the NDA/brief stage.
Selected candidates will receive the full technical brief after signing an NDA and will then be asked to provide a milestone-based quote.
What we value
We care about clarity, autonomy, strong artistic taste, technical judgment and attention to detail.
The project is intentionally focused in scope: the goal of the Vertical Slice is to validate the experience, the core mechanics, the visual language and the production pipeline before moving toward a larger production.
We are looking for someone who can create visual systems that feel cinematic to the player but remain readable, controllable and maintainable for the team.
To apply
Please send:
- CV
- portfolio or reel
- specific examples of shaders, realtime VFX, rendering work or advanced visual systems
- a short note describing a recent technical or visual challenge you solved
Sede di lavoro: Da remoto
