Technical Artist

Summary

Join Firaxis Games as a Character Technical Artist and contribute to the creation and optimization of characters and related systems for real-time content in Unreal Engine. Collaborate with a team of artists and engineers to design and implement character systems, including rigging, blend shapes, and customization tools. You will be responsible for optimizing assets for performance, prototyping new technical solutions, and troubleshooting issues. This role requires extensive experience with Unreal Engine, DCC tools, and a strong understanding of character modeling, rigging, and animation. The ideal candidate will possess a proactive, collaborative spirit and a passion for problem-solving.

Requirements

• Experience: 4+ years game development experience focused on Tech Art
• Technical Proficiency: Expertise in Unreal Engine, particularly with character tools, Blueprints, material creation, and optimization
• Ideally proficient in Maya, or Blender, especially for character modeling, rigging, and animation
• Strong experience with character equipment and blend shapes for body type customization
• Character Setup: Ability to create processes to support modular control rigs, tactical characters, and equipment systems that are adaptable to various entities, including humans and non-humans
• Experience with UV generation and material standards, ensuring visual consistency across characters and environments
• Customization & Optimization: Experience with body and face customization pipelines, including blend shapes and procedural fitting solutions
• Knowledge of optimizing assets to balance visual quality and performance
• Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Proven ability to work with various teams, including the Lead Character Artist, Technical Animator, other technical artists, engineering, and VFX, to integrate character systems and material effects
• Technical Troubleshooting: Strong problem-solving skills in asset creation, rendering issues, and content optimization
• Familiarity with performance capture workflows
• Adaptability & Innovation: Willingness to stay updated with the latest tools and techniques, testing and implementing new features in Unreal Engine
• Ability to prototype, iterate, and refine technical assets and character tools

Responsibilities

• Provide support in the design, creation, and optimization of character assets, including skeletons, cloth simulations, and ragdoll systems
• Develop and implement character customization pipelines for body and facial features, ensuring compatibility across various body types
• Set up and maintain character equipment systems, integrating blend shapes for seamless gear fitting
• Prototype new technical solutions for character creation, animation, and environment interactions
• Support the integration of advanced material and UV workflows, including global effects and tri-planar UV projection
• Create, optimize, and troubleshoot Blueprints and plugins to combine real-time technologies within Unreal Engine
• Support the importing and management of character assets from DCC software, optimizing them for real-time performance
• Collaborate with the Lead Character Artist, Technical Animator, and Lead Technical Artist to establish material and pipeline standards across disciplines

Preferred Qualifications

Bonus: Proficiency in Python and/or Houdini for developing pipeline tools and automating workflows

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401K retirement savings
• A wellbeing initiative with the opportunity to earn cash rewards
• An Employee Assistance Program
• Paid time off and paid holidays