
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Lead Programmer (f/m/d)
We are currently searching for a dynamic Lead Programmer to join our team as we embark on creating our next exceptional game using the Unreal Engine. In this role, your main responsibility will be overseeing and supporting a team of gameplay programmers.
As a Lead Programmer, you will:
- Demonstrate a true understanding of crafting remarkable games.
- Strategically plan and delegate tasks to a diverse team with varying skill levels.
- Coordinate with other departments.
- Inspire team members to elevate their technical prowess and excel in their abilities.
- Foster a collaborative work environment, encouraging teamwork and synergy.
- Actively seek to resolve conflicts and teach others conflict resolution skills.
- Possess a genuine concern for the well-being of team members.
- Promote company decisions and uphold company values.
Requirements:
- Proven track record of effective leadership skills.
- Extensive experience (7+ years) within a game studio including at least one fully shipped title and a minimum of 5 years in a leadership capacity.
- Strong proficiency in C++.
- A genuine passion for video games.
- Strong proficiency in the English language.
Bonus qualifications:
- General familiarity with Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
- Strong grasp of linear algebra concepts.
- Knowledge in profiling and optimizing code.
- Experience working on recent AA/AAA character-based games.
If you are a dedicated and passionate Lead Programmer with a drive for excellence, we would love to hear from you. Join us on our exciting journey as we push the boundaries of gaming!
Assessment:
- CV
- Code samples (optional – submit only code that you wrote and own)
- Test task* (see below)
- Online video interview
- On-site interview
Test Task Information
- The test is a self-contained Visual Studio project written in C++.
- Expect the test to take about 8 hours. Can be spread over two or three days.
- Complete as much of the test as you can in the given time.
- You will write code, troubleshoot bugs, and optimize.
- Correctness, approach, ability to follow directions, and style will be evaluated.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 38h workweek
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee, and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Senior Gameplay Programmer (f/m/d)
We are currently seeking highly motivated and talented senior gameplay programmers to join our team and be part of the creation of our next exceptional game using the powerful Unreal Engine. As a senior gameplay programmer, you will collaborate closely with designers, artists, leads, and other team members to transform abstract ideas into tangible and immersive experiences through your coding expertise. Your role will be instrumental in bringing characters to life by implementing sophisticated artificial intelligence, crafting weapons and special abilities for exhilarating combat, and integrating diverse gameplay logic, systems, and tools. We are looking for individuals who excel in their specialized areas or possess a broad skill set, embracing the challenges of diverse responsibilities. Senior team members play a vital role in the success of the entire team, leading by example, mentoring junior members, and prioritizing the creation of exceptional software. They understand the importance of balancing speed and quality, making thoughtful decisions when necessary. Join our team of passionate professionals, where creativity and dedication thrive. Together, we will create extraordinary games that will captivate players around the world.
Requirements:
- Solid working knowledge of C++ with creative problem-solving.
- A university degree (not necessarily in computer science).
- 5+ years’ experience at a game studio and completion of at least one game.
- Passion for video games.
- Strong English language skills.
Bonus:
- General experience with Unreal Engine 4/5.
- Strong linear algebra skills.
- Experience with recent AA or AAA character-based games.
Assessment:
- CV
- Code samples (optional – submit only code that you wrote and own)
- Test task* (see below)
- Online video interview
- On-site interview
Test Task Information
- The test is a self-contained Visual Studio project written in C++.
- Expect the test to take about 8 hours. Can be spread over two or three days.
- Complete as much of the test as you can in the given time.
- You will write code, troubleshoot bugs, and optimize.
- Correctness, approach, ability to follow directions, and style will be evaluated.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 38h workweek
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee, and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Producer (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a Producer to work on our upcoming projects with Unreal Engine. You will be responsible for the management of one or more aspects of the projects, working collaboratively with team leads for building roadmaps for features, identifying key success criteria, dependencies, and risks, implementing workflows, troubleshooting communication, and helping teams deliver on time and in quality.
You will have frequent interaction with the leads, testing teams, other producers, and outsourcers when needed.
The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic to learn, change and implement; professional in an ever-friendly manner; open-minded to understand and adapt; pragmatic to push the boundaries; and ambitious to want more out of their projects, the teams, and themselves.
Responsibilities:
- Following up and making things happen.
- Ownership of specific areas of the game.
- Preparing and tracking schedules, and identifying risks and opportunities.
- Making sure communication flows on time and on target.
- Prioritizing teams’ work and deliverables in regard to the constraints and goals.
- Identifying and helping resolve short & long-term resource and quality bottlenecks.
- Helping implement and improve production pipelines, design, and communication techniques, making sure these processes are followed up on time.
- Helping coordinate across the development team and supporting other non-games. development endeavours such as play-testing sessions, interviews, key asset provision etc.
- Helping liaise with external parties when needed.
Reporting Lines:
Reporting directly to the Development Director.
Requirements:
- 3+ years’ experience at a game studio working as a Producer or similar title.
- Outstanding group communication skills with proven ability to work within a team in English.
- Proactive project and people management skills in a multicultural environment.
- Passion for video games and quality with an eye on the “big picture”.
- Experience in documentation and communication workflows.
- Being a relentless self-starter with the ability to motivate others to get results.
- Acting as an organized centre of information with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Experience in Agile or Waterfall development methodologies and tools.
- Keen ability to prioritize tasks and issues in relation to goals and constraints.
- Strong command of MS Office products.
Pluses:
- Experience in complex action games.
- Working know-how of the Unreal engine.
- Experience in scripting languages and/or automating project reporting.
- Hands-on experience with Confluence, Kanban boards, and common bug trackers.
- Experience in console platform TRCs.
- Ability to work towards deadlines under changing conditions.
- Having shipped at least 1 product from initial conception to post-sales support.
- Understanding of a programming language.
- Knowledge of French and/or German
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee, and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- The stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Senior Lead 3D Artist (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a Lead 3D artist to work on our upcoming high-quality projects with Unreal Engine 5. In this role, your main responsibility will be leading and supporting a team of 3D Artists, as well as some hands-on work.
Responsibilities:
- Manage the 3D asset production of our internal team (props/vehicles/weapons/buildings, etc.), giving visual feedback and validating technical aspects.
- Collaborate with our outsourcing manager – who is leading external teams of 3D artists-, to make sure that all the assets are in line from a visual perspective, and also coordinate/plan and dispatch the work between the internal team and the external 3D artists.
- Have an accurate vision of all the work that needs to be achieved in the 3D department for the whole game, and plan and prioritize accordingly.
- Communicate/coordinate with other department leads, define priorities, and make sure that dependencies with other teams are considered.
- Delegate tasks to your team members according to their skill level, foster their learning and development and provide feedback on their work.
- Foster a collaborative work environment, encouraging teamwork and synergy and actively seeking to resolve conflicts.
- Maintain and improve assets creation workflow by researching new tools/technologies/ways of working that can improve quality and efficiency.
Reporting Lines:
Reporting directly to the Executive Art Director.
Requirements:
- Shipped at least 1 title as a lead 3D artist + shipped 3 or more games as a 3D artist.
- 5+ years’ experience at a game studio working as a senior 3D artist with a very good understanding of the whole game development process and its dependencies on the art teams.
- Team management experience, able to give feedback about style, quality and technical constraints.
- Able to work on different visual styles from realistic to stylized.
- Strong technical skills related to 3D real-time engines.
- Strong skills in hard surface modelling.
- Strong ability to sculpt organic shapes.
- Proficiency in the high poly and low poly baking workflow.
- Proficiency in creating efficient mapping, and minimizing seams and distortion.
- Proficiency in Zbrush, 3DS Max, Substance Painter and Photoshop.
- Self-motivated, problem-solving attitude.
Pluses:
- Experience with Substance designer, World machine, Marvelous designer, and Speedtree.
- Experience with Unreal Engine.
- Experience with new 3D workflow related to unreal 5 nanite feature.
- Having notions of lighting.
- Having worked on Xbox and PlayStation games before, not only PC.
We would like to see your portfolio (Assessment)
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, free fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Fitness area in the studio
- The stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
and the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcome and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs. Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
3D Artist (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a 3D artist to work on our upcoming high-quality projects with Unreal Engine. The candidate will be part of the 3D art team reporting directly to the Lead 3D artist.
Responsibilities:
- Sculpting, Lowpoly modelling, mapping and texturing (PBR workflow) of various types of assets like buildings, vehicles, props, and vegetation from hard edge surfaces to organic shapes.
- As a side task, there will also be dressing of levels in Unreal Engine
Requirements:
- Shipped at least 1 title as a 3D artist.
- Able to work on different visual styles from Realistic to stylized.
- Strong knowledge of technical constraints related to 3D real-time engines.
- Strong hard surface modeling skills, and ability to create hard surface props.
- Strong sculpting skills for organic shapes using Zbrush.
- Proficient in the high poly, and low poly baking workflow
- Proficient in creating efficient Mapping, minimizing seams and distortion
- Proficient in Zbrush, 3DS Max or Blender, Substance Painter, Photoshop, and Rizom.
- Self-motivated, technical problem solver.
Not required, but a huge plus:
- Experience with Substance designer, World machine, Marvelous designer, and Speedtree.
- Level dressing experience.
- Concept art and Visual design skills.
- Experience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
- Having notions of lighting.
Assessment:
- CV
- Test task (expect about 8 hours, can be spread over two/three days/information will be given to you)
- Online video interview
- Ideally on-site interview, if possible, otherwise second online
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 38h workweek
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee, and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- The stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs. Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Lighting Artist (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a Lighting Artist to work on our upcoming high-quality projects with Unreal Engine. They will be working on setting up and maintaining a part of the lighting and moods for our games.
Responsibilities:
- Work with the Executive Art Director on defining moods and lighting styles.
- Set up the main lighting and moods of our levels/worlds.
- Set up local lighting indoors and in key locations.
- Set up lighting for cutscenes and cinematics.
- Set up and lighting of dynamic VFX made by our VFX Team.
- Maintain the right balance between visual quality and performance requirements.
- Maintain/develop our lighting pipeline, and research new lighting techniques.
Reporting Lines:
Reporting directly to the Executive Art Director
Requirements:
- Shipped at least 1 title as a full-time Lighting Artist.
- 3+ years experience at a game studio working as a lighting artist.
- Strong knowledge of luminance and colour theory.
- Strong knowledge of modern lighting techniques, and technical and performance pipelines.
- Able to work on different visual styles from Realistic to Stylized.
- Self-motivated, technical problem solver, and team player.
Pluses:
- Experience with Unreal Engine 5 and Unreal 5 lighting pipeline.
- Experience with performance tracking tools (Pix, Razor, RenderDoc).
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcomed and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Concept Artist
We are currently looking for an environment and character concept artist to work on ‘TMNT: The Last Ronin’ and all our upcoming titles in the future. You will be creating 2D concept art (characters, buildings, props, backgrounds) in accordance with the artistic vision of the game. This role will have frequent interaction within the Concept Art team, as well as with the Outsourcing Manager and the 3D and Character Art teams. We are looking for someone used to teamwork and to communicate and iterate proactively.
Responsibilities:
- Creating 2D concept art efficiently, including characters, environments, mood paintings, buildings, props and vehicles, user interface and storyboards.
- Assisting other teams, from Game Design to Narrative, supporting the creation of the game’s vision and bringing all the pieces together.
- Understanding and adapting to possible technical constraints when creating concepts so that the translation between concept and final assets is as straightforward as possible.
- Creating faster and more accurate concept art for 3D in-house environment artists and outsourcers with 3D tools like Blender, 3dsmax, etc.
- Communicating with outsourcing companies.
- Creating storyboards of real time cutscenes used as a base of work for our cinematic team.
Reporting Lines:
This role reports to the Lead Concept Artist
Requirements:
Shipped at least 1 title as a concept artist.
- 3+ years’ experience at a game studio working as a concept artist.
- Highly proficient with 2D drawing and painting tools like Photoshop.
- Experience with 3D modelling tools.
- Have strong fundamental skills in drawing, painting, light and color.
- Strong knowledge of anatomy, proportions and perspective
- Being able to adapt to different art styles, from very realistic to stylized.
- Self-motivated, problem solver and proactive.
- Good ability to communicate with others and to work as part of a team.
- Proficient English skills.
Pluses:
Sculpting/mapping/texturing skills.
- Experience with open world games.
- At least 1 AAA title shipped.
- Experience working with outsourcing companies and communicating with externals.
We would like to see the best pieces of your portfolio (Assessment)
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcomed and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Lead VFX Artist (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a Lead VFX Artist to work with us on our upcoming projects with Unreal Engine 5.
To create our VFX we are using the tools which Epic provides (such as Niagara, Blueprints etc.) as well as a variety of licensed software (e.g. MAX, Substance Designer, Photoshop, ZBrush and Houdini FX, which become more and more a central part of our pipeline). In general, we are very flexible and open-minded about new techniques and software.
The ideal candidate should have the passion and the skills to support your team members: planning the project, building up the teams, briefing them and helping them develop. For that reason, it is a must that you enjoy communicating openly and helping people bring the best in themselves to work.
As a VFX lead, we are also looking for someone that is eager to create VFX which are visually stunning, well-timed, often interactive, and still performant. We are looking for someone who enjoys pushing for innovation with very strong communication and organizational skills.
Responsibilities:
- Create Visual effects using Unreal 5 and a variety of technical approaches, matching the visual style of the game.
- Create the required VFX assets (meshes, textures, flow maps, image sequences, vertex animations, etc.)
- Communicate with designers to collect all relevant information for effective creation and to brief team members.
- Work together with the VFX director, Tech Art, and Code to ensure the highest quality and best performance for effects.
- Follow through with an effect and keep it on the radar until it is fully implemented and working as intended.
- Plan and create VFX task lists, assigning tasks and monitoring them until approval.
- Feeding and Maintaining the VFX pipeline with outsourcing companies.
- R&D for the effect pipeline – new tricks and techniques.
- Work on further improvements and customization of our existing effects toolset. (E.g. helping to build a library of useful material functions, Niagara module, VFX blueprints, etc.).
- Manage your team by having 1-t-1, conducting annual reviews and mentoring team members
- Communicate with Art Direction and HR about team-related topics (training, career opportunities, etc.).
- Participate in recruitment processes for the team (evaluate CVs and portfolios, interview candidates, give feedback, assist the decision making)
Requirements:
- 5+ years experience as a VFX artist in a studio
- Experience with Unreal 5 (Niagara, Blueprints, etc.).
- Experience with Realtime VFX the obstacles and challenges.
- Being capable of VFX asset creation (meshes, textures, flow maps, image sequences, vertex animations, etc.).
- Ability to adapt to visual styles.
- Ability to create custom shaders and post effects.
- Inquisitive mindset and creative approach to work: capable to create effects in a constrained environment (project-specific performance requirements, amount of emitters and particles, etc.).
- Organized and responsible workflow to maintain file hygiene.
- Excellent communication skills and proven ability to work within a team.
- Self-driven mindset and being able to take over complex tasks and construction sites
- Good people skills and the ability to see and develop the talent of team members
Pluses:
- Experience with video visual effects software particles e.g. Adobe After Effects.
- Keen interest in CGI effects production.
- Basic programming or scripting skills.
- Passion to grow your skillset and to include a variety of techniques into your effects. (e.g., metaballs, fluid simulation, morphing, complex particle behaviour, etc.).
- Willingness to invest in tools design, further development, and documentation (sending your requests to the tools code team).
- General CG artistic skills, such as animation, camera work, and hand drawing skills.
We would like to see your portfolio and reel.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcomed and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs. Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
VFX Artist (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for a VFX Artist to work with us on our upcoming projects with Unreal Engine 5.
To create our VFX we are using the tools which Epic provides (such as Niagara, Blueprints etc.) as well as a variety of licensed software (e.g., MAX, Substance Designer, Photoshop, ZBrush and Houdini FX, which becomes more and more a central part of our pipeline). In general, we are very flexible and open-minded about new techniques and software. The ideal candidate should have the passion and the skills to create VFX which are visually stunning, well-timed, often interactive, and still performant. We are looking for someone that enjoys coming up with innovative solutions and is confident enough to tackle them.
Responsibilities:
- Creation of Visual effects using Unreal 5 and a variety of technical approaches, matching the visual style of the game.
- Creation of most of the required VFX assets (meshes, textures, flow maps, image sequences, vertex animations, etc.)
- Communicate well with designers to collect all relevant information for the effect creation.
- Work together with VFX Lead, Tech Art and Code to ensure the highest quality and best performance for effects.
- Follow through with an effect and keep it on the radar until it is fully implemented and working as intended.
- R&D for the effect pipeline – new tricks and techniques.
- Work on further improvements and customization of our existing effects toolset. (E.g., helping to build a library of useful material functions, Niagara module, VFX blueprints, etc.)
Reporting Lines: Reporting directly to the Lead VFX artist
Requirements:
- 2+ years’ experience as a VFX artist in a studio (we are flexible regarding the experience depending on the quality of the portfolio, delivered test task and interviews)
- Experience with Unreal 5 (Niagara, Blueprints, etc.).
- Experience with Realtime VFX the obstacles and challenges.
- Being capable of VFX asset creation (meshes, textures, flow maps, image sequences, vertex animations, etc.).
- Ability to adapt to visual styles.
- Ability to create custom shaders and post effects.
- Inquisitive mindset and creative approach to work: capable of creating effects in a constrained environment (project-specific performance requirements, amount of emitters and particles, etc.).
- Organized and responsible workflow to maintain file hygiene.
- Excellent communication skills and proven ability to work within a team.
Pluses:
- Experience with video visual effects software particles e.g. Adobe After Effects.
- Keen interest in CGI effects production.
- Basic programming or scripting skills.
- Passion to grow your skillset and to include a variety of techniques into your effects. (e.g., metaballs, fluid simulation, morphing, complex particle behavior, etc.).
- Willingness to invest in tools design, further development, and documentation (sending your requests to the tools code team).
- General CG artistic skills, such as animation, camera work, and hand drawing skills.
We would like to see your portfolio and reel.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcomed and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Animator (f/m/d)
We are currently looking for an experienced animator to to join our team as we embark on creating our next exceptional game using the Unreal Engine. As an Animator, you will have the chance to work on a range of gameplay animations from keyframe to mocap that will help bring our characters to life.
”Responsibilities:
- Creating keyframe 3D animations for characters and creatures for in-game and cutscenes.
- Cleaning up and editing motion capture data.
- Working together with our game designers, concept artists and character modelers on the aesthetic of the movement and gameplay specific animation timing.
Reporting Lines:
Reporting directly to the lead animator.
Requirements:
- Proficient in using Autodesk Maya.
- Proficient in using Autodesk Motion Builder.
- Shipped at least 2 titles as an animator.
- 5+ years in the game industry.
- Ability to produce realistic as well as stylized human and non-human movement.
- Understanding of animation requirements for an action game (sharpness, telegraph timings, combat actions timings, etc.)
- Self-motivated, technical problem solver
- Excellent communication skills & proven ability to work within a team.
- Willingness to work on location.
Pluses:
- Experience with Unreal 4/5 engine (animation graph, blueprint system, sequencer).
- Experience with 3DS Max.
- Knowledge of character rigging and skinning.
Assessment:
- CV and portfolio
- First interview (online or in person)
- Test-task (information will be given to you)
- Ideally on-site interview if possible, otherwise online
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
And the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are welcomed and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
System Administrator (f/m/d)
As a System Administrator in Black Forest Games’ IT team you will be able to pick up tasks from potential wide topics including Linux, Infrastructure, Networking, Software Development Environments, 3D Software, various Open Source Software and a range of Operating Systems and devices in use by the development teams as well as contribute to our hybrid cloud effort.
Responsibilities:
- Operate and expand Linux and Windows infrastructure
- Assist teams with deploying their workloads into cloud and on-premises environments
- Improve monitoring and automation systems
- Build and maintain highly available systems
- Administration and support for software, engineering platforms, utilities and tools
- Assist engineers and content creators with problem-solving
- Continuously update technical documentation
Requirements:
- Experience or willingness with Windows and/or Linux OS troubleshooting, problem-solving and critical thinking skills
- Good programming knowledge in one major language but preferable in: Python, C#, Powershell, Bash
- Comfortable learning about modern open-source technologies and tools
- Solid English language skills, comfortable communicating verbal and in writing
- Solid understanding of security principals and best practices
Pluses:
- Education: BS in Computer Science or similar field, lots of experience is just as good
- Experience in automation and deployment tools
- Familiar with topics covered in LPIC-1 or LPIC-2
Assessment:
- CV, personal references
- Work samples (optional if programming related. Only submit code that you wrote and own)
- Short call to identify an appropriate test task where you can shine
- Test task (about 4-8 hours, can be spread over two/three days). Send us your certification, and we can cut down on this.
- Online video interview
- On-site interview (if possible, otherwise second online)
Examples of previous work done are appreciated.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- 30 days of holiday
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, coffee, and drinks
- Additional free health insurance
- Pension Plan
- Mental health support
- Free accident insurance
- Fitness area in the studio
- The stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs.
Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Black Forest Games is the biggest studio of THQ Nordic Vienna and part of the fastest-growing publisher in Europe – Embracer Group. Here in the South of Germany, near the French border, we combine the creative freedom and culture of an independent studio and the financial security and stability of a big publisher with the possibility of working on worldwide known IPs. Currently, we’re working on ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’. As an international team, we embrace diversity and inclusivity, considering it an essential aspect of our core values.
Writing Intern (f/m/d)
Are you interested in story? Maybe becoming a writer?
Writing for games encompasses much more than writing lines of dialogue. There’s a whole network of tasks we do from beginning to end of production: research, documentation, and especially communication. Writing conceptualizes the beginning of the game’s story and its structure and follows the production through its many iterations, all the way to polishing its final state.
What might you work on?
Ultimately, to successfully produce a game, everyone must have access to what we are working on, ideas must be captured in writing, and these ideas must be communicated. You’ll be playing an integral part in that and learning as you go about the phase(s) of game production we are currently in.
We work with agile planning and sprints, meaning we plan three weeks of work at a time on Day 1, then tackle it over the next three weeks. While working, you’ll also learn about and experience: tracking your time, what it’s like to work in an English-speaking office, and how agile/Kanban works.
Some of the work you may do during a sprint includes, but is not limited to:
- Documentation: Organizing and maintaining our story and project information (wiki writing, Excel)
- Research: researching topics and compiling information into presentations (PowerPoint) and/or wikis
- Gridly: working with our Unreal Engine integration tool to maintain our database of lines; testing the build for our work, giving feedback, assisting with preparing files for voice recording sessions, etc.
- Cinematics: maintaining scripts, working with our scriptwriting tool FinalDraft12, attending script review meetings and taking notes
- Meetings: taking notes and documenting them in our wiki, sending emails, following up with stakeholders, participating in meetings
- Mentorship projects: researching and presenting a particular topic to the team
No prior experience with tools like FinalDraft, Gridly, or Unreal is necessary, though it’s a plus if you have worked with these or similar tools.
Which team will you be joining?
We are an inclusive team of speedy, supportive, hardworking writers. We have flexible hours, can plan around almost any life circumstance you can throw at us, and we get the job done by working together
Requirements:
- Enrolled in a university degree and looking for an internship (between 1 to 6 months)
- Be a reader
- Have a love of literature, text, and/or film studies
- Have an excellent grasp of the English language (C1 minimum)
- And love to write!
To apply, you don’t need to be a particular kind of gamer or have a particular field of study. We hope, in fact, that internship candidates come from many different areas of study and backgrounds so that we have as much diversity in talent and perspective as possible.
To apply, please provide:
- Cover letter in English:
- Why writing? What are you hoping to learn during your internship? What do you bring to the team? Do you have any experience with the tools we use?
- Portfolio: samples of your writing, ideally in English.
- Character outlines
- Story outlines (one pagers)
- Key samples of your writing to show your style and/or range of styles of writing, which could include but is not limited to:
- short fiction
- Novels
- game writing
- screenplays
- essays
- thesis
- memoir
- poetry
A sample should be one paragraph to one page, max. Include a small summary before or after each sample to provide context about the longer work it’s from.
If you only have German writing samples, please provide your synopses of your writing samples in English.
What else do we offer?
- Flexible working hours
- Competitive salary
- Green office, fresh fruits, free coffee, and drinks
- Fitness area in the studio
- Stability of a successful publisher paired with the creative freedom of an independent studio
and the chance to work with a great team in an open culture where your opinion and input are always welcome and considered, beyond your dedicated task.
Why join Black Forest Games?
Our team seeks long-term companions – we are hiring for the studio, not for the project. This principle holds a significant value in our company philosophy. Regardless of your background, we warmly welcome talented individuals. Black Forest Games provides a work environment that promotes a harmonious work-life balance and grants considerable flexibility. Here you have the chance to work on & shape up worldwide known IPs. Our studio is situated in the picturesque region of Southern Germany, conveniently close to cities like Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Basel. Our location enjoys exceptional connectivity, thanks to the amazing transportation infrastructure: three nearby airports, the highway, and the train station right around the corner. Despite our well-connected surroundings, Offenburg offers a unique blend of natural beauty and modern convenience, away from the chaotic noise of crowded cities.
Hey there! Yes, you! Are you interested in becoming part of the amazing team at Black Forest Games? We’re constantly on the lookout for talented individuals like yourself, and we’d be thrilled to receive your application, even if the specific position you’re interested in isn’t mentioned. Don’t hesitate to send us your resume along with your portfolio and CV.
Please note that Black Forest Games is currently a studio that operates on-site and does not provide remote positions. If you require further information, please refer to our FAQ page.