Technical Design Artist, Intern 2027

About the Role

As a Technical Design Artist Intern, you'll work at the intersection of art, engineering, and real-time technology at Allen Control Systems (ACS). You will help build and improve Unreal Engine 5 systems that bring products to life, including 3D assets, materials, visual effects, tools, and content pipelines. This is early-career work with real stakes, where you'll collaborate closely with engineers and technical artists to solve problems and iterate on technology.

• Location: Austin, TX (on-site)
• Duration: Summer 2027 (~10–12 weeks)
• Pay: Paid Internship

Key Responsibilities

• Build and integrate 3D assets, materials, textures, animations, and visual effects in Unreal Engine 5.
• Work closely with engineers and technical artists to develop and iterate on real-time visual systems.
• Create materials and shaders using Unreal Engine's Material Editor, including custom node-based and HLSL-based solutions where appropriate.
• Build tools and workflows that help artists and engineers work faster and more consistently.
• Use Blueprints and Python to automate repetitive tasks and improve content pipelines.
• Help investigate and solve performance issues across graphics, memory, rendering, and content.
• Work with Unreal Engine technologies such as Nanite, Lumen, Niagara, and Chaos.
• Collaborate with engineers and product teams to understand technical requirements and turn them into working visual solutions.
• Document tools, workflows, and technical decisions.
• Take projects from an initial idea through implementation, feedback, and iteration.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Game Development, Computer Graphics, Animation, Interactive Media, or a related field.
• Coursework, project, or internship experience with Unreal Engine, real-time graphics, technical art, 3D content creation, or game development.
• Experience working in Unreal Engine 5, including familiarity with the editor, Materials, and Blueprints.
• Experience with a 3D content creation tool such as Blender, Maya, or 3ds Max.
• Basic understanding of real-time rendering, including materials, lighting, textures, geometry, and performance.
• An interest in understanding how software and technical systems work.
• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Curiosity about working closely with engineers and learning how technical decisions affect the final product.
• A builder's mindset: you'd rather create something, get feedback, and iterate than wait for a perfect spec.
• A portfolio or examples of projects that demonstrate your work with Unreal Engine, 3D content, shaders, tools, visual effects, or other real-time technology.

You'll Stand Out With

• Experience with Python, C++, or HLSL.
• Experience building Unreal Engine tools or workflows with Blueprints or Python.
• Experience creating custom materials, shaders, or visual effects.
• Experience with Niagara, Nanite, Lumen, Control Rig, or Chaos.
• Experience with Houdini or procedural content generation.
• Experience using graphics or performance profiling tools such as RenderDoc, PIX, Unreal Insights, or the Unreal GPU Visualizer.
• Experience working directly with software engineers on a technical or creative project.
• Projects involving simulation, robotics, autonomy, embedded systems, or other real-time technology.
• Experience taking a project from prototype to a working, usable result.