WE ARE GAME MAKERS
Who We Are:
We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games. We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.
What We Need:
We’re seeking a Shader Technical Artist to leverage their technical skills and artistic understanding to help develop and maintain a strong shader pipeline that will serve teams across multiple disciplines. Your passion, knowledge, and experience will be integral to the look and style of a new generation of player-driven experiences, stemming from your ability to create high-quality shaders and technology that bring life to the worlds we build.
Who You Are:
- Utilize extensive experience in Unreal Engine to meticulously craft and optimize shader/master materials using Unreal Engine’s node-based shader graph and HLSL/GLSL/CG shader code, ensuring they are built cleanly and efficiently for seamless integration and user-friendly utilization by the materials team.
- Collaborate with development teams to establish and uphold artistic and technical shader standards, pushing the boundaries of real-time rendering while adhering to performance constraints.
- Assist in driving the development of innovative approaches to address complex technical and creative challenges, participating in the creation of shaders, shading validation tools, and defining shading standards.
- Provide technical support in identifying and resolving inefficient content pipelines, conducting performance profiling, and optimizing shaders to enhance overall visual fidelity and maintain desired frame rates.
What Will Make You a Great Fit:
- 4 years of experience or 2+ shipped titles in a Technical Art role.
- Proficiency in creating stylized and PBR shaders using node-based shader editors, tiled layered material systems, shader networks, procedural texturing, and HLSL code.
- Understanding of the technical foundations behind visually stunning textures and shaders in a physically-based rendering pipeline.
- Ability to communicate and collaborate across disciplines, sharing ideas and articulating visions.
- Familiarity with all the tools, techniques, and asset creation pipelines: UE5, Substance Designer, Substance Painter, Photoshop, modeling, baking, and texturing.
Bonus Experience:
- Experience in Unreal Engine’s node-based shader graph.
- Strong understanding of console, PC, and mobile platforms, and how to scale shaders to optimize for each.
The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $85,700 and $126,860 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.
Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.
Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefi ts at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefi ts; and reimbursements for fi tness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artifi cial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.
#LI-Onsite
#LI-Hybrid
Skills Required
- 4 years of experience or 2+ shipped titles in a Technical Art role
- Extensive experience with Unreal Engine and writing or integrating HLSL/GLSL/CG shader code
- Proficiency creating stylized and PBR shaders using node-based editors, tiled layered material systems, shader networks, procedural texturing
- Understanding of physically-based rendering (PBR) technical foundations for textures and shaders
- Familiarity with asset creation pipelines and tools: UE5, Substance Designer, Substance Painter, Photoshop, modeling, baking, and texturing
- Ability to communicate and collaborate across disciplines
- Experience optimizing shaders, performance profiling, and addressing inefficient content pipelines
- Experience in Unreal Engine's node-based shader graph
- Strong understanding of scaling/optimizing shaders for console, PC, and mobile platforms
2K Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — U.S. role descriptions outline 14 paid holidays, substantial vacation or discretionary time off, up to 10 paid sick days, and paid parental and compassionate leave. These specifics are spelled out in job postings, with details varying by team and location.
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Healthcare Strength — Core coverage includes medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, and telemedicine, alongside mental-health and wellbeing programs; some locations list carriers such as Cigna and Kaiser. Coverage is commonly characterized as solid even if not top-tier, with options differing by region.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) plan is employer-verified and is frequently noted as including company matching. This sits within a broader savings framework supported by the parent company.
2K Insights
What We Do
2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios responsible for developing 2K’s portfolio of world-class games across multiple platforms, include Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, 31st Union, and HB Studios. Our portfolio of titles is expanding due to our global strategic plan, building and acquiring exciting studios whose content continues to inspire all of us! 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including sports, shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, casual, and family entertainment. Our team of engineers, marketers, artists, writers, data scientists, producers, thinkers and doers, are the professional publishing stewards of our growing library of critically-acclaimed franchises such as NBA 2K, 2K PGA, Battleborn, BioShock, Borderlands, The Quarry, The Darkness, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, WWE 2K, and XCOM. At 2K, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We encourage ALL applicants to explore our global positions, even if they don’t meet every requirement for the role. If you're interested in the job and think you have what it takes to work at 2K, we encourage you to apply!
Why Work With Us
We pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We push ourselves creatively to do the best work of our careers. We’re direct, open, and you’ll probably meet some new best friends – along with their dogs – sitting nearby. In short, it’s kinda awesome.
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2K Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
We are a blend of onsite, hybrid, and remote roles. Please refer to individual job descriptions for more details on location.


