Mid / Senior / Principal Background Artist

We're looking for a Mid / Senior / Principal Background Artist to paint Neverland's storybook worlds: handcrafted, illustrative and beautiful.   Apply Now   This is a hands-on, in-engine role. We're not after someone who hands off models and walks away. We want an artist who builds, lights and finishes their environments inside Unreal, in the studio, alongside the rest of the team. The painterly look is made, or lost, in engine, and getting it right means being in the room.     What you'll do

• Help set the bar for Neverland's environments: painterly, handcrafted and full of storybook character
• Take hero locations from concept all the way through to finished, in-engine art, including modelling, texturing, shading and set dressing
• Develop and own the painterly look inside Unreal Engine 5, including materials, lighting and atmospherics
• Work with the Art Director and Concept Artists to carry the 2D vision into 3D without losing the painted feel
• Work closely with Lighting, VFX, Animation and Level Design so every environment supports gameplay and story
• Care deeply about painterly details. They're what make a world feel handmade
• For Principal candidates: set the studio's bar for background art, mentor the team, lead reviews and write style guides

  What we're looking for

• You've shipped AAA games as an environment or background artist
• A portfolio that shows stylised, painterly or storybook 3D environments
• You know the full environment pipeline: modelling, texturing, shading and set dressing
• You genuinely love working in engine. Unreal Engine 5, especially materials and lighting, is where you do your best work
• Strong Substance Painter skills and a sharp 2D painting eye, using Photoshop, Procreate or similar
• A sensitivity to brushwork, colour, light and composition
• You can read a concept and improvise in engine without losing its soul
• You're comfortable giving and receiving art direction
• You want to set the visual benchmark for a project, not just contribute to one
• You're happy being in the studio. This is a collaborative, in-person role and that closeness matters to the work
• For Principal candidates: multiple shipped titles, a record of defining the look of major locations and experience mentoring environment artists

  Ways of working
This is one of our more studio-based roles. The painterly look comes together through close, in-person collaboration with Art, Lighting and Level Design, so being in the room with the team really matters here. Tuesday to Thursday in our Warrington studio
Monday and Friday at your discretion, though many of us are in the office
Flexible working within core hours, 10:00-16:00   Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus UK bank holidays
• 4% company pension scheme
• EMI share options for eligible employees
• High-spec hardware and software provided