Technical Artist / Realtime Shader Developer

Please note, this role is remote but must live within 100 miles of Culver City, Cupertino and NYC.

Our client is looking for an experienced technical artist and realtime shader developer to design and build real-time visual effects, prototypes, and creative tools. In this role, you will collaborate closely with designers, producers, creative directors, and engineers to conceive, implement, and refine Metal-based visual effects used across apps and frameworks. You will translate visual concepts and look-development references into

performant, reusable rendering solutions. The role sits at the intersection of engineering and visual design, combining technical rigor with strong aesthetic judgment.

You should bring deep expertise in modern rendering pipelines and be equally comfortable with creative experimentation and low-level optimization. A strong foundation in real-time 3D graphics is essential, including ray tracing, ray marching, volumetric rendering, and physically based lighting. Experience with OpenGL, Vulkan, GLSL, or HLSL is highly valuable. Metal proficiency is ideal.

Success in this role requires more than technical mastery. You must be able to interpret creative direction, fill in visual gaps, and shape the look and feel of real-time effects. When direction is ambiguous, you are expected to propose solutions through rapid prototyping and visual exploration. A portfolio demonstrating real-time visuals, shaders, or interactive graphics is required.

Key Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience with real-time graphics and rendering pipelines
• Strong shader authoring experience in Metal Shading Language or equivalent (GLSL, HLSL, Vulkan)
• Deep understanding of ray tracing, ray marching, volumetric rendering, and real-time lighting
• models
• Proven ability to build shaders, pipelines, and tools used by non-engineering collaborators
• Strong visual sensibility and experience translating creative direction into real-time visuals
• Experience with real time content creation tools such as TouchDesigner, Unreal Engine, Unity, Unreal Engine, ThreeJS, or Reality Composer Pro
• Experience with the 3D rendering pipeline using tools such as Houdini, Blender, Maya, or the Substance Suite
• Demonstrated success in large-scale or cross-disciplinary content pipelines
• Proficient with Git and collaborative development workflows
• Strong communication skills and ability to bridge creative and technical perspectives

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with Core Animation, Core Graphics, USD, or SceneKit
• Experience building apps end-to-end on Apple platforms
• Proficiency in Objective-C or C++ (Swift a plus)
• Experience with AppKit or UIKit
• Strong skills in concurrent programming, debugging, and performance optimization

About Aquent Talent:

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match.

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.