Lead Graphics Developer

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. Certified as a Great Place to Work and for on-going and unannounced projects, Virtuos Lyon is looking for a Lead Graphics Developer motivated by ambitious, tech-demanding titles on PC and consoles. You'll be responsible for maintaining, developing and optimizing AAA-quality graphics systems in proprietary engines or Unreal Engine, working closely with developers and technical artists. As a Lead Graphics Developer, you will also have to establish guidance and strategy for our team of talented graphics developers. This role reports to the Technical Director and requires a deep understanding of software engineering and graphics workflows for real-time applications.

$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 your 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 our 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.
• When necessary, write documentation explaining the studied or developed systems.
• Be proactive in the elaboration of recommendations to improve how we are doing things.
• Lead graphics project strategies (conventions, unification, sharing, performance) to maintain a coherent technical vision across projects.

• 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.