VFX Director

About the role

Studio Wildcard, creators of the hit game ARK, was founded in 2014 by industry veterans Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak. ARK is the most successful Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview title ever and continues to break industry records on consoles and PC. We are seeking an experienced and highly creative VFX Director to lead the visual effects vision across our games and cinematic experiences. This role will define the artistic direction, technical standards, and production workflows for real-time visual effects while collaborating closely with Art, Engineering, Design, Animation, Cinematics, and Production teams. The ideal candidate is both a strong visual leader and an experienced VFX artist who understands how to create spectacular and performant effects for large-scale game worlds in Unreal.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain the overall VFX artistic vision and quality bar for Studio Wildcard projects.
• Lead and mentor a team of VFX artists, providing creative direction, feedback, and professional development.
• Develop VFX style guides, visual standards, workflows, and production best practices.
• Collaborate with Art Director, Creative Director, Designers, Animators, Engineers, and Cinematics teams to develop cohesive visual experiences.
• Oversee the creation of gameplay VFX including environmental effects, abilities, weapons, creatures, destruction, weather, magic, explosions, and other interactive effects.
• Ensure VFX assets meet performance, scalability, readability, and platform requirements.
• Work closely with Technical Artists and Engineers to improve VFX tools, shaders, materials, particle systems, and pipelines.
• Establish efficient review and iteration processes for VFX production.
• Balance visual quality with gameplay readability and technical performance.
• Participate in creative reviews and provide clear, actionable feedback to artists.
• Help define staffing, scheduling, task prioritization, and resource requirements for VFX production.
• Identify emerging VFX technologies and techniques that could improve the quality and efficiency of Studio Wildcard's projects.
• Maintain awareness of current real-time rendering, simulation, procedural, and cinematic VFX techniques.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional experience creating VFX for AAA games, film, animation, or comparable real-time entertainment.
• Previous experience leading or directing a VFX team.
• Strong understanding of real-time VFX production and Unreal 5+.
• Demonstrated ability