Principal Graphics Programmer

THE JOB

As the Principal Graphics Programmer on the team behind Returnal and Saros, you will work closely with the Technical Art Director, Technical Director, and Graphics Architect to help drive the next evolution of Housemarque games.

You already understand the realities of large-scale production: how to balance visual quality with performance, and how to judge what truly serves the project versus what is just novelty. Your comfort zone is at the crossroads of design, rendering, and engine code. You are just as comfortable tuning performance deep in the pipeline as you are shaping new visual features.

Together with the team, you will push innovation in ray tracing, lighting, and shading, turning fresh ideas into practical solutions, whether through GPGPU techniques or real-time ML and tensor computing.

 

What will your day-to-day look like?

• Enjoy breakfast and coffee in our cafeteria to prepare for the day ahead.
• Work with the team to design and implement advanced rendering features on PlayStation 5, with a strong focus on ray tracing (reflections, global illumination, shadows, ambient occlusion).
• Develop and optimize lighting solutions (real-time and baked), ensuring top-tier quality and stable performance on PS5 hardware.
• Research, prototype, and implement physically based shading models (BRDFs) to improve realism and artistic direction.
• Profile and optimize shaders, GPU workloads, and memory usage for RDNA2 architecture.
• Collaborate with art directors, graphics programmers, and technical artists to balance performance and visual quality.
• Guide and mentor other graphics programmers, setting technical standards for the rendering team.
• Stay up to date with graphics research and push new technology into production pipelines on PlayStation platforms.

What will help you to be successful in this role?

• Proven experience (8+ years) in graphics programming for consoles or high-end real-time applications, with at least one shipped AAA title.
• Solid understanding of GPU architecture (AMD RDNA2), performance optimization, and console memory systems.
• Deep expertise in ray tracing APIs (DXR-like models, Sony’s PSR pipeline, or Vulkan RT concepts).
• Experience with PlayStation-specific graphics APIs (GNM/GNMX) or equivalent low-level rendering frameworks.
• Strong background in lighting theory, global illumination techniques, and next-gen rendering pipelines.
• Advanced knowledge of shader programming (HLSL/PSSL) and BRDF models.
• Experience applying machine learning techniques to graphics, including but not limited to texture upscaling, denoising, or super-resolution.
• Strong math skills (linear algebra, geometry, calculus) applied to real-time graphics.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, autonomy, and ability to lead technical initiatives.
• Passion for pushing visual fidelity on PlayStation hardware.

 

Bonus skills

• Knowledge of custom ray tracing pipelines on PS5.
• Familiarity with GPU-driven rendering and task/mesh shaders.
• Background in procedural rendering workflows (geometry, materials, lighting).
• Contributions to graphics research, publications, or open-source rendering projects.

What do we offer to you?

• Competitive salary, benefits, healthcare & Nordic work-life balance
• Tailored immigration and relocation package to help you get settled into Finland
• State-of-the-art studio facilities in the heart of Helsinki
• Freedom, flexibility and openness in a collaborative culture
• Brilliant, diverse and empathetic colleagues to work with
• Exciting and ambitious projects executed with the best tools
• Access to PlayStation Studios collaboration, games and more!

This is a permanent, full-time position based in Helsinki, Finland.

We will start interviewing promising candidates immediately so please apply as soon as possible.