As a Principal Environment Artist on the Riot MMO team, you'll focus on building high-quality 3D assets, expressing their unique style through shape, lighting, & materials, as well as help establish the technical workflows that enable our world to come to life in Unreal Engine 5. Youll be responsible for taking concept art & turning it into stunning environment assets that elevate gameplay & storytelling. This is a creative role with a strong sense of composition & environmental storytelling that also requires deep Unreal 5 knowledgeideal for someone who pairs deep modeling & texturing craft expertise with the ability to partner across Tech Art & Engineering to build scalable pipelines.

Youll push quality targets, collaborate on tools & workflows, & help the team deliver immersive spaces that perform well at scale. You will find the right balance between creating a beautiful world & empowering its gameplay/product needs. You think about implementation, not just visual targets & have experience maximizing scalability of the workflows you build. Youre comfortable pushing a concept further in Unreal 5 & know how to work within real constraints to create environments players cant wait to explore time & again. 

This is a high-impact role for an artist who thrives at the intersection of creative excellence & technical execution.

Responsibilities:

• Create high-quality 3D environment assetsincluding hard surface structures & organic foliageusing modern tools & workflows.
• Own the implementation & optimization of assets in Unreal Engine 5, balancing visual fidelity, gameplay clarity, & performance.
• Interpret & push concept designs to the next level while navigating technical constraints like draw calls, poly count, texture memory, & streaming budgets.
• Partner with Tech Art & Engineering to build efficient pipelines, tools, & workflows that support scalable, real-time content creation.
• Help define & maintain material & shader libraries in collaboration with Tech Art, with a deep understanding of PBR workflows & real-time lighting.
• Establish & raise the craft bar for environment asset quality across multiple biomes & cultures, ensuring artistic cohesion & performance standards.
• Influence development techniques (including procedural content generation) that enable rapid content creation at scale.
• Navigate creatively ambiguous problem spaces through rapid iteration & artistic exploration.
• Collaborate with the Art Director & Creative Leads to uphold visual direction & ensure environments support narrative, gameplay, & world cohesion.
• Support the team by mentoring other artists, creating documentation, & contributing to best practices that strengthen the discipline.
• Actively participate in the environment craft community, leading initiatives & discussions that elevate craft thinking across the project.
• Partner with Product & Delivery leads to ensure visibility into team velocity, deliverables, & production phases.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience creating environment art for AAA games.
• Experience with procedural world-building workflows (Houdini, Geometry Nodes, or similar in-engine PCG systems)
• Expert modeling, sculpting, & texturing skills using tools like Maya, ZBrush, Substance, & Photoshop
• Deep Unreal Engine 5 experience, especially Nanite, materials, & environment optimization
• Strong understanding of PBR workflows, real-time material creation, & lighting fundamentals.
• Experience building environments for large, open-world or multiplayer games.
• A collaborative mindsetable to partner closely with Tech Art, Design, & World Building to achieve shared goals.

Desired Qualifications:

• A love for and/or experience working on MMORPGs
• Substance Designer experience preferred
• Experience with performance benchmarking, streaming budgets, & optimization in large-scale maps
• Familiarity with the League of Legends IP or Runeterras world & aesthetics.

When submitting your application, please include a portfolio that showcases your environment art range, technical implementation skills in Unreal Engine 5, & ability to push visual quality while maintaining performance constraints.

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy & other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, & life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, & children, & a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games & experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether youre working directly on a new player-facing experience or youre supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, were better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, were looking forward to your application.

Its our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants & members of Riot Games Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped & disabled Rioters & does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal & state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state & local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, & the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential & sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters & third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, & networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players & other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, & compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs & additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency & security.