Senior VFX Artist – Vic/SA/Qld

Keywords Studios is hiring a Senior VFX Artist based in Melbourne, VIC, with the role open to candidates across Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland. This position sits within the real-time VFX pipeline, responsible for building and optimising complex particle systems, shader networks, and in-engine visual effects that directly shape how a project reads on screen. It suits an experienced VFX artist who has shipped titles or productions and knows how to own an asset from concept through to final in-engine delivery.

About the Role

The Senior VFX Artist works inside Keywords Studios’ real-time production pipeline, contributing to projects at a stage where VFX quality directly impacts the final look of the product. Day-to-day work involves building shader networks, driving rendering decisions, and solving technical VFX problems in a live production environment. This is a hands-on role with genuine ownership over complex VFX systems, not a support position.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and optimise real-time VFX systems including particle effects, shaders, and environmental effects within engine constraints.
• Own the creation of shader networks from initial build through to performance optimisation across target platforms.
• Collaborate directly with art directors and technical leads to align VFX output with the established visual language of each project.
• Identify and resolve rendering bottlenecks that affect VFX performance within the production pipeline.
• Maintain consistency across VFX assets by establishing and following internal style guides and technical benchmarks.
• Contribute to pipeline improvements by flagging workflow inefficiencies and proposing practical solutions based on production experience.

What You Bring

• Demonstrated experience as a senior-level VFX artist with shipped credits across real-time or interactive productions.
• Strong working knowledge of real-time rendering and shader creation within industry-standard engines.
• A portfolio that shows ownership of complex VFX systems across multiple production types.
• The ability to work across distributed teams in a production studio environment.
• Experience troubleshooting VFX performance issues within a structured VFX pipeline.

Why This Role

Keywords Studios is one of the largest technical and creative services companies supporting the games and interactive entertainment industry, with studios and production teams operating globally. The Melbourne studio offers access to a broad production slate and the kind of infrastructure that supports serious senior-level work. This is a role with real scope for a VFX artist who wants to operate at the top of their discipline.

Apply now for the Senior VFX Artist role at Keywords Studios and take the next step in your VFX pipeline career.