3D Modeller / Render Artist (E-commerce Products)

Role summary
We’re a UK bathroom retailer/distributor seeking a 3D Modeller/Render Artist to create accurate, photorealistic assets and imagery for product detail pages, marketing, and AR/3D viewers. You’ll convert CAD/technical drawings into clean meshes, apply physically-accurate materials, and deliver consistent cutouts, lifestyle renders, 360 spins, and web-optimised 3D/AR files.

Key responsibilities
-Model creation & cleanup
--Convert CAD (STEP/IGES/SolidWorks/Revit) into efficient, watertight meshes; retopo as needed.
--Maintain true-to-spec dimensions/tolerances (±1–2 mm) and correct scale.
--UV unwrap with clean, non-distorted islands and logical texel density across parts.

-Materials & surfacing
--Build PBR materials (metal/roughness) for bathroom finishes: chrome, brushed brass, matte black, ceramic glaze, stone resin, lacquer/woodgrain, glass.
--Create/curate texture sets (normal/roughness/AO) and match real-world finishes (RAL, Pantone, supplier chips).

-Lighting & rendering
--Set up reusable scene/light rigs (HDRI + area lights) for consistent hero, angle, and detail shots.
--Produce white cutouts on pure #FFFFFF, natural-shadow cutouts, and lifestyle scenes aligned to brand.
--Generate 360 turntables, exploded views, and detail macro renders where required.

-Variant & range management
--Efficiently output colour/finish/size variants (e.g., 500/600/800 mm units; chrome/brass/black fittings).
--Maintain scene and naming templates for multi-SKU ranges.

-3D/AR for web
--Export light, web-ready GLB/GLTF/USDZ for product page viewers (Shopify, web, iOS AR Quick Look).
--Optimise polycount, LODs, and texture sizes to meet load-time budgets.

-Collaboration & workflow
--Work from product drawings, supplier references, sample photography, and QA feedback.
--Track versions, follow naming conventions, and upload to DAM/PIM folders (e.g., Akeneo + DAM).
--Create simple SOPs/templates so others can reproduce output consistently.

Deliverables & specs (typical)

Renders (per SKU & variant):
-4–6 angles on white (3000–4000 px longest edge), consistent framing.
-1–2 lifestyle renders (3000–4500 px), on-brand rooms/props.
-Detail crops (e.g., finish, hinge, waste, overflow).

3D/AR assets: GLB/GLTF + USDZ, ? 15–25 MB each where possible, ? 200k–500k tris (guideline), embedded textures or referenced /textures folder.
-Spin: 24–36 frames (or video), consistent turntable centre, alpha or white background.

Tooling (you don’t need all, but must cover end-to-end)
-DCC: Blender, 3ds Max, or Maya.
-Render engines: Cycles, V-Ray, Corona, Arnold, or KeyShot.
-Texturing: Substance 3D Painter/Designer, Quixel assets.
-CAD import: MoI3D, FreeCAD, Blender CAD tools, 3ds Max CAD importers.
-Utilities: HDRI lighting, Poliigon/ambientCG, xNormal/baking tools.
-Pipeline: Git/Git-LFS (or DAM versioning), Trello/Jira, Google Drive/SharePoint.

Must-have qualifications
-3+ years’ product visualisation experience (consumer goods; bathroom/kitchen products a big plus).
-Proven CAD-to-mesh workflow and portfolio demonstrating clean topology, accurate scale, and photoreal results.
-Strong PBR material skills for metals, ceramics, glass, lacquers, woods, and plastics.
-Comfortable hitting consistent brand lighting/framing across large SKU catalogs.
-Web optimisation know-how (poly/texture budgets, compression, GLB/USDZ quirks).
-Excellent file hygiene: naming, layers, non-destructive scenes, and reproducible setups.
-Clear written English; can read engineering drawings and callouts.

Nice-to-haves
-Experience with bathroom fittings: taps, wastes, hinges, shower hardware, furniture, stone resin trays.
-Knowledge of Shopify 3D model limits, Amazon/eBay image rules.
-Basic NURBS/solid modelling skills for parametric adjustments.
-Revit/SolidWorks familiarity; IFC insight.
-Basic Photoshop (composites, dust/dirt, decals), After Effects/Premiere for short spin videos.

KPIs & quality bars
-Throughput: ~20 simple SKUs/week or ~10 complex SKUs/week (incl. variants), depending on complexity.
-First-pass acceptance: ? 90% (minor tweaks only).
-Colour/finish match approval: ? 95% against references/chips.
-Rework rate: ? 10%.
-Consistency audit: Pass scene/angle/lighting/padding checks.

Working pattern & location
-Remote; align a portion of your day with UK hours for reviews/feedback.
-Ability to handle sprints (range launches) and steady weekly queues.