About the role
Location
France, Lyon
Company Overview
Located in the heart of Lyon, within the prestigious Hôtel-Dieu, Virtuos Labs Lyon is home to nearly 50 passionate professionals specializing in engineering, with strong expertise in tool development and remaster projects. Founded in 2004, Virtuos is one of the largest independent video game development companies. Headquartered in Singapore with offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, the company specializes in full-cycle game development and art production, having delivered content for more than 1,500 console, PC, and mobile games for 23 of the top 25 gaming companies worldwide. Established in 2021, Virtuos Labs – Lyon specializes in game development and engineering.
Role Overview
The Lead Graphics Developer is responsible for maintaining, developing, and optimizing AAA-quality graphics systems in proprietary engines or Unreal Engine. This role reports to the Technical Director and involves establishing guidance and strategy for a team of graphics developers while working closely with developers and technical artists.
Responsibilities
Management
- Coordinate closely with Technical Directors to align on project progress and objectives.
- Establish strategy, milestones, and staffing plans for Graphics Developers across assigned projects.
- Manage, mentor, and support Graphics Developers throughout their assignments.
- Monitor Graphics Developers’ deliveries and ensure results meet expected quality and timelines.
- Assess related upcoming risks and anticipate mitigations for production safety.
- Help the team develop their full potential through training and personal growth initiatives.
- Act as a role model in management, demonstrating strong leadership, empathy, clear communication, and accountability.
- Foster a positive and inclusive team culture built on trust, collaboration, and respect.
Development
- Continuously assess the graphics workforce against actual and future opportunities and make recommendations to level up the skillset.
- Collaborate with stakeholders in the design of comprehensive and coherent technical strategies for graphics workflows and graphics features to serve project deliveries and imperatives.
- Drive the implementation and optimization of graphics workflows, graphics features, and tools for both CPU and GPU systems.
- Ensure smooth integration between gameplay and visuals for the different graphics features.
- Collaborate with other teams (Tech Art, Art, Production, Gameplay, Design) to ensure high-quality integration and responsiveness.
- Provide technical support to Game Developers and Tech Artists, including debugging, review, and optimization assistance.
- Write documentation explaining studied or developed systems when necessary.
- Be proactive in the elaboration of recommendations to improve internal processes.
- Lead graphics project strategies (conventions, unification, sharing, performance) to maintain a coherent technical vision across projects.
Qualifications
- 5+ years in a Lead position (mandatory).
- 3+ years in graphics development for games or equivalent.
- Familiar with modern game engine and graphics engine architecture.
- Familiar with Unreal Engine 5, its graphics workflow, and graphics features.
- Familiar with one or more Graphics API (Direct 3D 12, Vulkan, etc.).
- Familiar with writing shaders (HLSL, GLSL, etc.).
- Strong programming knowledge, especially in C++ and OOP logic.
- Good understanding of the code impact on performance and memory utilization.
- Experienced in managing and delivering features in an Agile environment, leveraging and supporting team self-organization, promoting lean processes, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Autonomous, efficient, and proactive attitude.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Fluent in French and English, both written and spoken.
Nice to have qualifications
- Previous work on Gen9 AAA projects.
- Credited for at least one released game.
- Software Engineering background.
- Comfortable in optimization field.
- Passion for graphics systems and the future of graphics engineering.
Benefits and Perks
- Office located in the heart of Lyon.
- Inclusive and equal opportunity work environment.
- Fulfilling careers with continuous talent development at one of the largest external development companies globally.
- Work on a prestigious portfolio with some of the world’s biggest AAA game titles.
- Global and local teambuilding activities.
- Quality of life at work and comprehensive medical healthcare provided for all staff.
- Relocation support.
- Career and international mobility opportunities with the Virtuos Internal Mobility Program.