Founded in 2010 by the original creators of the Call of Duty Franchise, Respawn was created with the philosophy that when talented people have creative freedom, they’ll make extraordinary games that achieve the unexpected. From our roots as an indie studio to joining the expansive roster of studios at Electronic Arts, this remains our guiding principle. We truly love what we do and want to share our passion with players worldwide. Our shipped titles include critically acclaimed multi-platform games Apex Legends, Titanfall, Titanfall 2, Star Wars™ Jedi: Fallen Order and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Join us for the opportunity to create groundbreaking games with some of the best developer talent in the industry. You can learn more about our studio and values at respawn.com/studio. 

This is a 12-month Temporary Full-Time opportunity working Hybrid in Los Angeles or Vancouver.

We're looking for a passionate Senior Cinematic Lighter who will embrace our philosophy and work with design leadership, artists, code, and other departments to help us create an incredible experience for our players. You will report to the Lighting Director.

Responsibilities:

• You will author lighting for real-time, in-game, cinematic sequences in UE5, supporting story, mood, composition, readability, continuity, and emotional storytelling, all to an exceptionally high standard.
• You will work in Sequencer to light scenes, maintain shot-to-shot continuity, and collaborate with other departments to produce visually stunning, technically complex, and emotionally resonant cinematics.
• You will partner closely with Level Lighting Artists to maintain a cohesive look and feel between gameplay spaces and cinematics.
• You will translate art direction, narrative needs, previs, and gameplay context into industry leading real-time cinematography.
• You will author and tune lighting using MegaLights and Lumen, balancing light counts and shadow quality against runtime constraints.
• You will align on shared standards: exposure ranges, lighting ratios, color palette, grade guidelines, fog/volumetric baselines, and readability rules, to maintain a consistent look.
• You will ensure cinematic shot lighting respects contextual and performance constraints and avoids jarring transitions in and out of cutscenes.
• You will profile and optimize lighting, atmospherics, and post effects to support a 60 FPS target on supported platforms.
• You will diagnose and resolve production lighting issues; exposure shifts, reflection artifacts, shadow noise/instability, volumetric artifacts, etc., and coordinate with Tech Art/Engineering when deeper rendering/pipeline work is required.
• You will produce cinematic lighting at an extremely high visual bar for real-time cinematics, through strong craft, cinematographic expertise, and collaboration
• You will provide guidance and mentorship via reviews, conversations, and practical lighting notes to help keep the cinematic lighting standard at an exceptional quality level.
• You will improve workflows where helpful: give user feedback/help to develop our custom tools, provide input on workflow best practices, as well as write documentation.
• You will contribute to level lighting tasks if required.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years professional experience in real-time game lighting, including cinematic or narrative lighting responsibilities.
• Shipped at least one AAA title in a senior lighting-focused role (strong preference for multiple shipped titles, in a senior cinematic lighting role).
• Strong production experience lighting in Unreal Engine 5.
• Demonstrated experience lighting real-time cinematics with Sequencer in UE5, or similar/equivalent tools, with the ability to maintain shot continuity.
• Strong working knowledge of Lumen lighting workflows and how to keep results stable and performant in motion.
• MegaLights experience (or equivalent dense dynamic lighting experience with strong performance discipline), with the ability to balance light counts, shadow quality, and runtime cost.
• Proven ability to light for a 60 FPS target, using profiling, iteration, and well considered tradeoffs while preserving artistic intent.
• Advanced understanding of cinematography, including camera and lighting language (blocking, lensing intent, exposure control, continuity, mood, and visual storytelling).
• Advanced understanding of photographic techniques and methods, such as practical lighting approaches, lighting ratios, motivated lighting, key/fill/rim strategies, and using real-world reference to create believable results.
• Excellent art fundamentals: composition, mood, color theory, exposure, and cinematic lighting principles.
• A portfolio/reel featuring real-time UE lighting work (cinematic shots strongly preferred) with clear attribution of responsibilities and a brief explanation of approach.
• Mentorship/review leadership experience appropriate for a senior role that improves team output and consistency.
• Bachelor's Degree in the Arts is a bonus, but not a requirement.

Pay Transparency - North America

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS 

The ranges listed below are what EA in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in these locations at the time of this posting. If you reside in a different location, a recruiter will advise on the applicable range and benefits. Pay offered will be determined based on a number of relevant business and candidate factors (e.g. education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, or business needs). 

PAY RANGES

* British Columbia (depending on location e.g. Vancouver vs. Victoria) *$111,600 - $152,800 CAD

* California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. San Francisco) *$124,100 - $182,800 USD

In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to temporary full-time employees scheduled to work full time.

Pay is just one part of the overall compensation at EA.

In the US, we offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to temporary full-time employees scheduled to work full time. 

 In British Columbia, we offer a package of benefits including vacation (3 weeks per year to start), 10 days per year of sick time, and extended health/dental/vision coverage and basic life insurance.

About Electronic Arts

We’re proud to have an extensive portfolio of games and experiences, locations around the world, and opportunities across EA. We value adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity. From leadership that brings out your potential, to creating space for learning and experimenting, we empower you to do great work and pursue opportunities for growth.

We adopt a holistic approach to our benefits programs, emphasizing physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support a balanced life. Our packages are tailored to meet local needs and may include healthcare coverage, mental well-being support, retirement savings, paid time off, family leaves, complimentary games, and more. We nurture environments where our teams can always bring their best to what they do.

Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.