Epic Career Paths
Getting Started with Early Career Resources
General Resume Tips
Standout resumes exhibit a clear focus, clean layout, and are easy to scan quickly. The key is to make the most relevant information pop out of the page in just a few seconds. Too much information or clutter can work against you.
Most resumes can capture the right information within one page, but this isn't a hard rule. Just make sure that anything you include on your resume has a reason to be there. There is rarely a need for a resume beyond 2 pages.
Most resumes can capture the right information within one page, but this isn't a hard rule. Just make sure that anything you include on your resume has a reason to be there. There is rarely a need for a resume beyond 2 pages.
Courtesy of REWIND and HBO
Portfolio and Work Samples
- Digital portfolio links should be easy to find on a resume. Direct us to your best and strongest work with minimal clicks. Once there, the hiring team should not need to spend much time hunting for the work. Help us get there as quickly as possible to make an impact.
- Show only your best work. Your content should be complete, polished, and bug-free. Bad stuff hides the good stuff, so if your work varies in skill level and quality, you’ll always be judged on the weakest/incomplete project. Even if you only have one completed character/level/project plan we recommend showcasing that over a mix of incomplete projects that aren’t consistent or don’t bring a wow factor.
- Clarify your contributions when showcasing the work. What tools/software did you use? Was it a solo or group project? If a group, how many people and in what timeframe? With the group projects, be sure to specify your particular involvement in the effort, and the final outcome/result.
- Do not feel compelled to build a website from scratch for portfolios. There are many free or inexpensive sites available for you to showcase your work. And many also have a network of professionals that you can join. Remember, with portfolios simplicity is best. Get there quickly and show us the work you're most proud of.
Cover image courtesy of Michael Wallace
Prioritize Content
Lead with the most impactful experience. It’s best to prioritize any real-world jobs, industry work or internships, independent and group projects/game jams or competitions, and any competitive projects that were required in school. It’s ok to highlight your education or courses you’ve taken if it’s relevant and you are lacking industry experience, but remember to always give priority to real-world work as that will be more impactful.
Highlight your accomplishments, not just a laundry list of responsibilities. For example, what were the outcomes or impact of what you did? This helps hiring managers understand not only what you did, but how well you did it.
Be truthful. With resumes and portfolios alike, only list the skills that you are proficient in. If you specify familiarity with a core competency, language, or technology and you are not confident using it in a work environment, we will eventually uncover this in the interview.
Tailor your resume to demonstrate your practice and familiarity with the technologies specified in the job description; one size does not fit all, and it’s common to have multiple versions of your resume depending on the company, team, and position you are applying to. Just remember to keep it clean, focused, and concise.
Cover letters are optional at Epic. If you choose to write one, a best practice is to tailor the message uniquely to the company and position you are applying for, and say something beyond a simple repeat of the same information from your resume. Avoid blanket templates that copy/paste the company names, as those will appear less genuine. But in most instances you can skip the cover letter entirely, and focus your energy on producing the best possible resume for the position you are applying for.
Highlight your accomplishments, not just a laundry list of responsibilities. For example, what were the outcomes or impact of what you did? This helps hiring managers understand not only what you did, but how well you did it.
Be truthful. With resumes and portfolios alike, only list the skills that you are proficient in. If you specify familiarity with a core competency, language, or technology and you are not confident using it in a work environment, we will eventually uncover this in the interview.
Tailor your resume to demonstrate your practice and familiarity with the technologies specified in the job description; one size does not fit all, and it’s common to have multiple versions of your resume depending on the company, team, and position you are applying to. Just remember to keep it clean, focused, and concise.
Cover letters are optional at Epic. If you choose to write one, a best practice is to tailor the message uniquely to the company and position you are applying for, and say something beyond a simple repeat of the same information from your resume. Avoid blanket templates that copy/paste the company names, as those will appear less genuine. But in most instances you can skip the cover letter entirely, and focus your energy on producing the best possible resume for the position you are applying for.
Programming at Epic
Programming at Epic
Specializations within Programming:
Tools Development - This team creates tools for content creators of Unreal Engine, Fortnite, Rocket League, and other games and applications from UI to Cinematics.
Rendering - Develop enhancements and graphical features for Unreal Engine staying on the cutting edge of real-time graphics.
Animation - Design and implement animations for Unreal Engine.
Physics - Build the simulation, from destruction to environmental and everything in between.
Data Science - Combine programming with mathematical modeling techniques to build the machine learning products.
XR [Extended Reality] - Blur the boundaries between the virtual and the physical to create wholly new realities and experiences.
Gameplay Programmer - Work directly on creating and improving our AAA game mechanics.
Rendering - Develop enhancements and graphical features for Unreal Engine staying on the cutting edge of real-time graphics.
Animation - Design and implement animations for Unreal Engine.
Physics - Build the simulation, from destruction to environmental and everything in between.
Data Science - Combine programming with mathematical modeling techniques to build the machine learning products.
XR [Extended Reality] - Blur the boundaries between the virtual and the physical to create wholly new realities and experiences.
Gameplay Programmer - Work directly on creating and improving our AAA game mechanics.
Concepts that are important for this career path:
C++: We are first and foremost a C++ house and as such it is the foundation of everything we build. Practical expertise in scripting in C++ is a requirement in the majority of our games and engine-focused programming internships.
Unreal Engine: Familiarity with Unreal Engine development is essential to success.
Data structures and algorithms: A solid foundation in CS fundamentals is a prerequisite for all of our engineering internships.
Math & Physics: While not a prerequisite for all internships, a strong background in mathematics and or physics will only benefit your growth within the discipline.
Unreal Engine: Familiarity with Unreal Engine development is essential to success.
Data structures and algorithms: A solid foundation in CS fundamentals is a prerequisite for all of our engineering internships.
Math & Physics: While not a prerequisite for all internships, a strong background in mathematics and or physics will only benefit your growth within the discipline.
Building a Technical Portfolio:
Building a programming portfolio will benefit you in numerous ways and can prove valuable when applying for our internships. While programming portfolios may be a new concept in engineering, they are highly valued at Epic. A repository of your work will show us, not tell us, what you have and can do. Including this information with your resume will benefit you.
Demonstrate your C++ expertise: GitHub is a great repository for sharing your development experience.
Provide detailed overview of past projects: Capture your previous projects related to the path of engineering you have chosen in the form of white papers.
Track Unreal Online Learning modules: Track the modules you have completed with notes on each subject to retain and reflect comprehension.
Share published games and applications: If you have published game(s) or applications keep a running record of your releases with details related to development.
Published papers and documentation: Capture a list of documentation and/or papers you have written in relation to the specialization you have chosen.
Demonstrate your C++ expertise: GitHub is a great repository for sharing your development experience.
Provide detailed overview of past projects: Capture your previous projects related to the path of engineering you have chosen in the form of white papers.
Track Unreal Online Learning modules: Track the modules you have completed with notes on each subject to retain and reflect comprehension.
Share published games and applications: If you have published game(s) or applications keep a running record of your releases with details related to development.
Published papers and documentation: Capture a list of documentation and/or papers you have written in relation to the specialization you have chosen.
Programming Learning Resources
Design at Epic
Design at Epic
Specializations within Design:
Game Design - Work directly on creating and improving game mechanics.
Level Design - Create and design exciting environments and levels.
Systems Design - Design the architecture, product design and interfaces of your game projects.
UI Design - Design the graphical images of game interfaces.
UX Design - Create the user interaction flow for either interface designs or in game mechanics.
Level Design - Create and design exciting environments and levels.
Systems Design - Design the architecture, product design and interfaces of your game projects.
UI Design - Design the graphical images of game interfaces.
UX Design - Create the user interaction flow for either interface designs or in game mechanics.
Concepts that are important for this career path:
We hire designers that LOVE games.
When asked why they enjoy a certain game they are excited to deep dive into the gameplay mechanics or discuss how they could be improved. When they see something in a game that’s not quite right, they’re constantly thinking about why the developers made that decision, or how they would personally improve upon it using new techniques.
When asked why they enjoy a certain game they are excited to deep dive into the gameplay mechanics or discuss how they could be improved. When they see something in a game that’s not quite right, they’re constantly thinking about why the developers made that decision, or how they would personally improve upon it using new techniques.
Building a Design Portfolio:
It is imperative that you have a visual portfolio in any creative role, and design is no exception. Use your portfolio to spotlight your strongest work with minimal clicks. Include only your best and complete pieces of work. Unfinished or unpolished work makes it difficult for us to effectively review your portfolio, as we will not gain a good understanding of your capabilities.
When showcasing your design work always include commentary that explains your role on the project, the software used, and details of your achievements. Including a project post-mortem is also helpful as it allows us to gain an understanding of what you thought worked and didn’t work.
Specifically for roles relating to game design, our hiring managers appreciate seeing video walkthrough with commentary of the game, or even a playayable module - that means a complete interactive, digital experience, even if it’s just one well-polished level. Your work should be easy to play or stream online, for example, YouTube clips or Twitch. It should also be a runnable game embedded on Epic Games Store, Steam or a secure website.
Remember, accessibility is important. If possible don’t hide your project behind a paywall or make someone download files to a personal machine.
For other areas of design, be sure to include working files alongside the finished product. For example, with UX design, hiring managers want to see wireframes of your work so they can understand how you approached the final piece.
When showcasing your design work always include commentary that explains your role on the project, the software used, and details of your achievements. Including a project post-mortem is also helpful as it allows us to gain an understanding of what you thought worked and didn’t work.
Specifically for roles relating to game design, our hiring managers appreciate seeing video walkthrough with commentary of the game, or even a playayable module - that means a complete interactive, digital experience, even if it’s just one well-polished level. Your work should be easy to play or stream online, for example, YouTube clips or Twitch. It should also be a runnable game embedded on Epic Games Store, Steam or a secure website.
Remember, accessibility is important. If possible don’t hide your project behind a paywall or make someone download files to a personal machine.
For other areas of design, be sure to include working files alongside the finished product. For example, with UX design, hiring managers want to see wireframes of your work so they can understand how you approached the final piece.
Design Learning Resources
Art at Epic
Art at Epic
Specializations within Art:
Concept Artist - Creates a digital painting of the initial idea. Establish the look and feel of the world and characters to shape the overall concept of the game.
Environment Artist - Model and build environments and props from start to finish, including texturing, materials and lighting.
Character Artist - Model and build characters through to completion, including texturing, materials and lighting.
VFX Artist - Focus on particle systems and effects such as fire or water. Anything from weather effects, explosions, smoke or cloth.
Technical Animator (Rigging) - Build the skeleton of a character or prop and create procedural objects, for example, a cloth that moves realistically using simulated physics.
Animator - Manipulate the skeleton of an object to move within the scene.
Tech Artist - Act as a bridge between artists and programmers by utilizing Blueprints to create materials and tools.
Environment Artist - Model and build environments and props from start to finish, including texturing, materials and lighting.
Character Artist - Model and build characters through to completion, including texturing, materials and lighting.
VFX Artist - Focus on particle systems and effects such as fire or water. Anything from weather effects, explosions, smoke or cloth.
Technical Animator (Rigging) - Build the skeleton of a character or prop and create procedural objects, for example, a cloth that moves realistically using simulated physics.
Animator - Manipulate the skeleton of an object to move within the scene.
Tech Artist - Act as a bridge between artists and programmers by utilizing Blueprints to create materials and tools.
Concepts that are important for this career path:
Photoshop - Digital painting and concept art
Maya - 3D modeling and animation
ZBrush - Digital sculpting, texturing and painting
3DS Max - Game assets and modular environments
Substance Painter - Texturing and procedural texturing
Blender - Entire 3D pipeline: modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking.
UE4 Blueprints - Visual scripting without using code
Houdini - Effects creation
UE4 Cascade - Modular particle effects
UE4 Niagara - Effects creation and manipulation within UE4
Maya - 3D modeling and animation
ZBrush - Digital sculpting, texturing and painting
3DS Max - Game assets and modular environments
Substance Painter - Texturing and procedural texturing
Blender - Entire 3D pipeline: modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking.
UE4 Blueprints - Visual scripting without using code
Houdini - Effects creation
UE4 Cascade - Modular particle effects
UE4 Niagara - Effects creation and manipulation within UE4
Building an Art Portfolio:
Anyone applying to an art or visual-based role at Epic requires a portfolio. If you do not submit a portfolio with your application you will not be considered.
The ideal art portfolio is a direct link to your ArtStation page that shows us your strongest work with minimal clicks. Include only your best and complete pieces of work. Unfinished or unpolished work makes it difficult for us to effectively review your portfolio, as we will not gain a good understanding of your capabilities.
With any art role at Epic it’s important we see your passion. It’s easy to see someone's passion for art when hours are spent on personal projects or creating community tutorials. These are examples of things that stand out and are more likely to get you noticed than just working on your educational projects. We also love to see where you take your inspiration from and where you get your creative ideas, so feel free to include concepts from other artists but remember to always credit them.
Always include a description with the piece that details information on the software used. Did you sculpt in Zbrush, or model in Maya or Blender? Did you use Substance for texturing? What program did you use to render your final piece?
We love breakdowns! When going into more detail about the piece include WIP shots of your final render (Bonus if you can also show ingame/in-engine of the model, not just the final render).
Art roles at Epic are mostly specialized. Often students become generalists and learn a bit of everything. If you’re not a specialized artist, provide your career goals in your resume. For example, if you’re a generalist, do you want to get into character modeling, environment art, and hard surface? And tell us why by showcasing this work in your portfolio.
Check out your competition. This is a great way to learn, grow and take inspiration from the look and feel of other successful portfolios. Head to Artstation and look at the Trending page to get an idea of what success looks like.
The ideal art portfolio is a direct link to your ArtStation page that shows us your strongest work with minimal clicks. Include only your best and complete pieces of work. Unfinished or unpolished work makes it difficult for us to effectively review your portfolio, as we will not gain a good understanding of your capabilities.
With any art role at Epic it’s important we see your passion. It’s easy to see someone's passion for art when hours are spent on personal projects or creating community tutorials. These are examples of things that stand out and are more likely to get you noticed than just working on your educational projects. We also love to see where you take your inspiration from and where you get your creative ideas, so feel free to include concepts from other artists but remember to always credit them.
Always include a description with the piece that details information on the software used. Did you sculpt in Zbrush, or model in Maya or Blender? Did you use Substance for texturing? What program did you use to render your final piece?
We love breakdowns! When going into more detail about the piece include WIP shots of your final render (Bonus if you can also show ingame/in-engine of the model, not just the final render).
Art roles at Epic are mostly specialized. Often students become generalists and learn a bit of everything. If you’re not a specialized artist, provide your career goals in your resume. For example, if you’re a generalist, do you want to get into character modeling, environment art, and hard surface? And tell us why by showcasing this work in your portfolio.
Check out your competition. This is a great way to learn, grow and take inspiration from the look and feel of other successful portfolios. Head to Artstation and look at the Trending page to get an idea of what success looks like.
Art Learning Resources
Business at Epic
Business at Epic
Specializations within Business:
Product Management - Business development at Epic scale, this team owns development and growth of new products.
Finance - As Epic continues to grow, our finance team is actively managing our business.
Strategic Finance - One part Finance, one part Business Development, all Epic. This team scopes out the future and Epic’s budgets accordingly.
Business Marketing - Epic has a multitude of B2B platforms and applications with their own brand feel. Our Business Marketing team keeps Epic’s B2B services front of mind for our customers.
Education Marketing - Evangelism of Unreal Engine to students, colleges, and universities in addition to showcasing the incredible games, art, and designs by students is this team's passion.
Social Marketing - Our Social Marketing team keeps Epic trending all the while building our presence across all social media platforms.
Communications - Our Communications team keeps the world informed on the latest from Epic.
Technical Writing - From documentation to whitepapers our Technical Writing teams are the knowledge keepers of Epic.
Finance - As Epic continues to grow, our finance team is actively managing our business.
Strategic Finance - One part Finance, one part Business Development, all Epic. This team scopes out the future and Epic’s budgets accordingly.
Business Marketing - Epic has a multitude of B2B platforms and applications with their own brand feel. Our Business Marketing team keeps Epic’s B2B services front of mind for our customers.
Education Marketing - Evangelism of Unreal Engine to students, colleges, and universities in addition to showcasing the incredible games, art, and designs by students is this team's passion.
Social Marketing - Our Social Marketing team keeps Epic trending all the while building our presence across all social media platforms.
Communications - Our Communications team keeps the world informed on the latest from Epic.
Technical Writing - From documentation to whitepapers our Technical Writing teams are the knowledge keepers of Epic.
Concepts that are important for this career path:
Relevant Degree: An education aligned with the Enterprise career is essential. A degree in these business critical areas, whether in business, administration, communications, finance, or similar discipline, is a must have for both your success as well as Epics.
Research: Work to understand the business you are applying for. Do your research to learn what the team does and how you can add value to Epic.
Business Acumen: Familiarize yourself with the common vernacular, disciplines, and strategies of the business you are applying for. Understanding the nuances of a business will show confidence and help you successfully navigate the interview.
Research: Work to understand the business you are applying for. Do your research to learn what the team does and how you can add value to Epic.
Business Acumen: Familiarize yourself with the common vernacular, disciplines, and strategies of the business you are applying for. Understanding the nuances of a business will show confidence and help you successfully navigate the interview.