Lead VFX Artist job at Rebellion, Oxford 2026

Rebellion is searching for a visionary, technically elite, and highly collaborative Lead VFX Artist to spearhead our growing real‑time effects department on an upcoming, unannounced project. Positioned at the very inception of this new title’s development lifecycle, you will play a monumental role in charting the project’s creative vision, defining technical pipelines, and constructing scalable workflows within Rebellion’s powerful proprietary engine, Asura.

This leadership position spans multiple domains: you will be directly responsible for the technical deployment of particle systems, fluid simulations, screen post‑processing, material alterations, mesh destruction models, and UI effects. Crucially, you will act as a foundational pillar for the team, offering empowering mentorship, setting clear performance benchmarks, and driving career growth across our expanding VFX department.

Core Roles & Responsibilities

• Creative Vision & Technical Stewardship
• Aesthetic Direction: Establish, communicate, and preserve the creative vision and real‑time visual effects style guide across the entirety of the project.
• Proprietary Pipeline Architecture: Design, optimize, and maintain highly scalable workflows and engine tools within the Asura engine to protect performance across all targeted platforms.
• Holistic FX Delivery: Supervise and deliver top‑tier content across multiple sub‑disciplines, tracking particle systems, fluid dynamics, post‑processing filters, material behaviours, mesh fracturing, and UI animations.
• Executive Alignment: Partner alongside art, engineering, and design leadership to ensure real‑time effects align organically with core gameplay mechanics and narrative themes.
• Stakeholder Communication: Pitch stylistic iterations and technical asset budgets clearly to key project stakeholders, responding fluidly to direction changes.
• Resource & Planning Balance: Manage project tracking schedules, source control systems, and asset documentation to ensure the VFX department operates cleanly within broader production loops.
• Empathetic Mentorship: Guide, inspire, and act as a reliable professional anchor for our growing team of VFX artists, providing constructive, iterative portfolio feedback.
• Career Progression Tracking: Conduct reviews, map out individual career advancement, and maintain a collaborative, high‑moral team atmosphere centered on creative expression.

Candidate Requirements & Qualifications

• Professional Experience
• Shipped AAA Pedigree: Extensive professional experience producing real‑time VFX, backed by a strong portfolio showcasing an exceptional eye for colour theory, timing, scale, and performance constraints.
• Proven Leadership History: Practical experience managing and guiding lines of VFX artists, setting studio standards, and resolving complex personnel or scheduling bottlenecks.
• Cross‑Discipline Alignment: Demonstrated capability operating at the intersection of code, art, and design to resolve complex visual implementation puzzles.
• Software & Technical Expertise
• DCC Tool Proficiency: Deep knowledge of modern industry‑standard creation suites, specifically Blender, Photoshop, Substance, After Effects, Houdini, and Embergen.
• Simulation Mastery: Advanced understanding of particle physics, volume generation, dynamic simulations, real‑world texture sheets, and vector fields.
• Optimisation Literacy: Mastery over current‑gen performance profiling, shader complexities, fill‑rate overdraw limitations, and hardware resource boundaries.

Work‑Life Balance & Hybrid Flexibility

For UK‑based applicants we are open to discussing robust remote working arrangements adapted to your personal needs. For those wishing to work on‑site or transition to our physical locations, we provide a premium, comprehensive relocation package that includes full logistics support, moving assistance, and temporary studio accommodation to guarantee a stress‑free transition.

Benefits

• Generous Paid Time Off: 22 days of annual leave, plus a dedicated Christmas studio closure (typically 4 days), alongside all standard UK Bank Holidays. Your holiday allowance increases with service after 5 years by one day each year, up to a maximum of 31 days.
• Health & Wellness: Premium Private Medical Insurance and a comprehensive healthcare cash plan that includes dental and vision coverage.
• Financial Protection: Robust Life Assurance, Income Protection, and Critical Illness Cover to give you and your loved ones total peace of mind.
• Family Support: Enhanced Family Leave policies to support you through life’s major milestones.
• Financial Flexibility: Access to interest‑free, tax‑free loans for travel or personal needs, alongside an Enhanced Pension Scheme.
• Mental Health Support: A dedicated Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing a wide array of mental health, wellness, and counselling resources.
• Perks & Lifestyle: A massive selection of retail discounts, lifestyle freebies (including full access to the Rebellion gaming and comic catalog), and regular, subsidised studio social events.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Right to Work

Rebellion fosters an inclusive culture where you are actively encouraged to be your authentic self. We believe that a representative, diverse team creates richer, deeper, and ultimately better entertainment products. Rebellion celebrates all demographics of culture, gender identity, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, and beyond. Innovation thrives when varied perspectives collide.

Right to Work Statement

Please Note: This specific position is strictly open to applicants who already possess the permanent right to work within the United Kingdom. Rebellion is unable to provide, sponsor, or take over visa sponsorship for this role, either now or at any point in the future. All applicants must be capable of demonstrating their ongoing, independent eligibility to work in the UK during the application phase.