Senior Tech/VFX Artist – 6 month contract

Job Position(s): Senior Tech/VFX Artist - 6 month contract

Panic Stations, a UK-based games studio, is hiring a Senior Tech/VFX Artist on a 6 month remote contract open to candidates anywhere in the UK. This role sits at the intersection of VFX production and technical art pipeline development, with the primary output being real-time particle systems, gameplay feedback visuals, and in-engine asset implementation for an unannounced co-op combat game. It suits a senior-level technical artist who is equally comfortable crafting VFX and building the tools that make an art team run faster.

About the Role

You will be embedded in the art and engineering workflow at Panic Stations, owning the VFX pipeline from concept through in-engine hookup across multiple projects simultaneously. A typical day moves between building particle systems in Unity, diagnosing art bugs, writing lightweight automation tools, and joining playtests to assess how VFX is communicating gameplay hits and player feedback. The studio operates without heavy process overhead, so you are expected to identify where effort is needed and move without waiting to be directed.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the real-time VFX pipeline end to end, crafting particle systems in Unity that clearly communicate combat impacts, player feedback, and game-feel for a co-op combat title.
• Identify inefficiencies in the art production workflow and build procedural solutions, automation scripts, and lightweight tools to accelerate content output across the studio.
• Import, set up, and hook up assets in-engine, handling materials, prefabs, folder structure, and naming conventions to production standard.
• Diagnose and fix VFX, material, and collision bugs directly in engine rather than routing issues back through other departments.
• Support Tech Art across multiple studio projects, overseeing the broader technical art pipeline and advising on optimization for online multiplayer performance from an art perspective.
• Participate in playtests and provide cross-discipline input, bridging the gap between art, design, and engineering when production problems do not fit neatly into one department.

What You Bring

• Senior-level experience in technical art and real-time VFX production, with a track record of owning a VFX pipeline on shipped titles.
• Confident, hands-on Unity experience including particle system creation, visual scripting, and in-engine asset implementation.
• Proficiency in Blender, or a demonstrable ability to transition quickly from another 3D package without a ramp-up period.
• Experience building art tools and automation scripts to support a production pipeline, with shader creation, rigging, or C# scripting treated as a strong bonus.
• A working understanding of optimization and performance considerations for real-time multiplayer titles, viewed from the art side of production.

Why This Role

Panic Stations is a small studio building co-op games, which means your VFX work is directly visible in the player experience rather than filtered through layers of review and sign-off. The 6 month contract carries potential to extend, and the remote setup covers the full UK, with no relocation required. The studio’s output is focused on shipping builds, so your reel here reflects real shipped work rather than internal prototypes that never see players.

Apply now for the Senior Tech/VFX Artist position at Panic Stations and bring your technical art and VFX pipeline experience to a studio that puts the game experience first.