VFX Artist – 2027 Summer Internship

Obsidian Entertainment is hiring a VFX Artist for their 2027 Summer Internship, based out of Irvine, California. This role sits within the art department and focuses on building real-time visual effects for an upcoming RPG title, covering everything from character and weapon effects to environmental destruction events. It suits a student or early-career artist with hands-on experience in real-time VFX pipelines who wants structured mentorship inside a shipped-game studio.

About the Role

The VFX Artist intern joins Obsidian Entertainment’s Obsidian University Internship Program and works directly alongside art leads and production staff on the studio’s next role-playing game. Day-to-day work involves creating and iterating on in-game particle effects and VFX materials inside Unreal Engine 5, with feedback loops that mirror a full production pipeline. This is not a passive program, the expectation is direct contribution to a title in active development.

Key Responsibilities

• Build in-game VFX assets across character, weapon, environment, and destructive event categories using Unreal Niagara’s real-time particle system.
• Work against established visual targets set by art leads, ensuring stylistic consistency across all effect types delivered.
• Collaborate with artists, designers, and engineers to solve both artistic and technical problems as they arise in the VFX pipeline.
• Author and iterate on real-time VFX materials inside Unreal Engine 5 to support effect fidelity across game environments.
• Learn and operate within the studio’s VFX production pipeline, gaining familiarity with professional game development workflows.

What You Bring

• Demonstrated experience with real-time particle editing using Unreal Niagara is required.
• Proficiency in at least one 3D content creation package such as Maya or 3ds Max.
• Experience creating VFX materials in Unreal Engine 5 specifically.
• A web portfolio showing real-time particle work is required for application review.
• Familiarity with Houdini, EmberGen, Substance 3D Designer, or Unreal 5 blueprint creation is a plus but not required.
• Strong problem-solving instincts applied to technical VFX challenges in a game development context.

Why This Role

Obsidian Entertainment has a long track record in the RPG genre with titles that carry real critical weight, and this internship places you inside an active game development pipeline rather than on the sidelines. The estimated pay range for this VFX Artist intern role is $22.00 to $30.00 per hour. Applications close Friday, January 29th at 5:00 pm PST, so turnaround on your portfolio and application should be a priority.

Apply now for the VFX Artist 2027 Summer Internship at Obsidian Entertainment and get your real-time particle work in front of a team that will actually use it.