Senior VFX Artist (TEMP), Hearthstone | Irvine, CA or Remote

Job Position(s): Senior VFX Artist (TEMP), Hearthstone | Irvine, CA or Remote

Activision Blizzard is hiring a Senior VFX Artist (TEMP) for the Hearthstone team, based out of Irvine, CA with remote work also on the table. This role sits inside the Hearthstone VFX department, responsible for building real-time visual effects that communicate gameplay mechanics and land emotionally with players across platforms. It suits a senior-level VFX artist with deep experience in stylized game VFX pipelines and a track record of shipping titles at AAA scale.

About the Role

This is a 12-month contract position embedded within the Hearthstone development team, working across card effects, gameplay moments, and UI-adjacent visuals built inside Unity. Day to day, you are constructing VFX from initial concept through implementation, troubleshooting in-engine, and collaborating directly with engineers and designers to keep effects performant across platforms including mobile. The VFX pipeline here runs from Adobe Creative Suite and Maya into Unity’s real-time FX systems, so comfort across that full chain is essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build real-time visual effects using Unity’s in-game FX systems, covering setup, implementation, and in-engine troubleshooting from start to finish.
• Apply core visual design principles including lighting, color, value, and motion to create effects that read clearly during gameplay and serve the art direction of Hearthstone.
• Work directly with engineers to ensure VFX are built to performance budgets and remain maintainable across the production lifecycle.
• Contribute to the VFX pipeline using Adobe Creative Suite, Maya, and Unity, maintaining technical standards consistent with AAA game development workflows.
• Give and receive direct creative feedback within the team, helping maintain quality standards across all VFX output on the project.
• Support mobile platform VFX requirements, adapting effects to meet the technical constraints of that delivery target.

What You Bring

• Eight or more years of professional real-time VFX experience within a game development studio environment.
• At least one shipped AAA game title credit as a Senior VFX Artist or equivalent role.
• Professional proficiency in Unity or Unreal Engine, with demonstrated Unity work preferred for this position.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and Maya or a comparable 3D package, evidenced in your reel or portfolio.
• Shader authoring, scripting, or experience with visual scripting tools such as Playmaker or Blueprint is a strong asset.
• Experience delivering VFX for mobile platforms and familiarity with co-development or outsourcing partner workflows is a plus.

Why This Role

Blizzard Entertainment has a long reputation for stylized, character-driven art that holds up across game generations, and Hearthstone is one of the most recognized card games in the industry with an active global player base. This contract offers a senior artist the chance to work inside a focused development team on a live title with real creative scope, within a studio that treats VFX as a central part of the player experience rather than a finish pass.

Apply now for the Senior VFX Artist (TEMP) position at Activision Blizzard and bring your real-time VFX pipeline experience to the Hearthstone team.