Senior 3D Designer / 3D Artist

Project overview

Our client in the manufacturing space is seeking a highly skilled Senior 3D Designer to transform engineering and CAD assets into compelling, photorealistic visual experiences that support product launches, marketing initiatives, customer education, and sales enablement efforts. This role partners closely with engineering, product management, and creative teams to bring products to life through high-quality renderings, animations, videos, and other customer-facing visual assets.

The ideal candidate has a strong portfolio of product visualization work and proven experience converting CAD models into polished, production-ready content. Details

• Start Date: ASAP
• Location: Remote
• 40 hours/week (working CST hours)
• Duration: Freelance opportunity with potential for full-time conversion
• Conversion Requirement: Candidates interested in full-time conversion must be located within commuting distance of Minneapolis, MN and willing to work onsite four (4) days per week upon full time hire
• Industry: Manufacturing
• Portfolio Requirement: Required; portfolio review will be a critical component of the evaluation process Responsibilities
• Convert CAD models into optimized, rendering-ready 3D assets.
• Create photorealistic renderings, animations, videos, and other visual assets for use across marketing, sales, product launches, web, packaging, trade shows, and customer-facing channels.
• Partner closely with engineering, product management, and creative teams to ensure technical accuracy while delivering visually compelling content.
• Develop realistic materials, lighting, textures, and environments that effectively showcase products.
• Establish and maintain visualization standards, asset libraries, and rendering workflows.
• Explore and implement emerging technologies, including AI-assisted visualization and real-time rendering solutions, to enhance efficiency and creative output.
• Contribute to the development and evolution of the organization's product visualization capabilities and strategy. Requirements
• 5+ years of experience creating product visualizations, renderings, animations, or digital product experiences.
• Experience working with CAD assets and converting engineering models into customer-facing visual content.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating photorealistic product visualization and/or animation work.
• Proficiency with CAD-based workflows; experience with platforms such as SolidWorks, Creo, Inventor, CATIA, Siemens NX, or similar is highly valued.
• Experience with visualization tools such as KeyShot, Blender, Cinema 4D, 3ds Max, Maya, or similar platforms. Specific software experience is flexible.
• Experience with animation, motion graphics, and/or video production workflows.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with both technical and creative stakeholders.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to visual accuracy.
• Manufacturing industry experience is a plus but not required.
• Experience with AI-assisted visualization or real-time rendering technologies is a plus. In this position, you may have access to client or customer systems, confidential and/or proprietary information or data. Benefits

Project details

• Start: flexible
• Duration: Freelance opportunity with potential for full-time conversion
• Remote: remote
• Location: United States, US