Lead VFX Artist

Placements24 is hiring a Lead VFX Artist based in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, South Africa. This role sits at the centre of the VFX pipeline, responsible for conceiving and delivering finished visual effects across games, film, and media productions from initial brief through to final integration. It suits an experienced effects artist who has moved into a leadership position and knows how to maintain quality and consistency across a team without losing their own creative eye.

About the Role

The Lead VFX Artist works within a hybrid production environment, reporting into creative and technical leadership while driving the visual effects output across active projects. Day to day, this means overseeing asset creation, running feedback sessions with your team, and working directly with directors and art leads to lock down the look and behaviour of effects before they hit the production pipeline. The role carries real ownership over VFX workflow decisions, from tool selection through to final delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creation and implementation of high-quality visual effects for film, games, and other media from concept through to final production-ready delivery.
• Define and maintain the visual style of effects across projects, ensuring artistic consistency and technical accuracy at every stage of the VFX pipeline.
• Develop and refine VFX techniques, tools, and workflows to improve efficiency across the production schedule.
• Mentor a team of VFX artists through regular reviews, providing direct and constructive feedback tied to project goals and deadlines.
• Work closely with directors, art leads, and technical teams to align on aesthetic targets and ensure effects serve the production’s overall visual language.
• Stay current with advancements in real-time rendering, simulation technology, and VFX software to inform pipeline decisions.

What You Bring

• Extensive professional experience in visual effects artistry, with a portfolio demonstrating complex simulations, particle systems, and destruction effects across multiple productions.
• Proficiency in Houdini, Maya, and After Effects, with working knowledge of real-time VFX workflows inside Unreal Engine or Unity.
• Proven track record leading a VFX team through full production cycles on film, episodic television, or games.
• Strong understanding of fluid and destruction simulations and how they translate across both offline and real-time rendering pipelines.
• Clear ability to communicate technical and artistic decisions to both production and creative stakeholders.

Why This Role

Placements24 is placing this artist with a Mbombela-based studio that offers a highly competitive salary, performance bonuses, and a comprehensive health, dental, and vision package. The hybrid work model gives genuine flexibility, and the studio provides access to current professional tools alongside structured opportunities for career development. For a Lead VFX Artist looking to grow within a post-production workflow environment that values craft, this is a serious position worth considering.

Apply now for the Lead VFX Artist role with Placements24 through the button on this page.