We are currently recruiting for a Lead Technical Artist position with an innovative gaming studio based in Guildford. This well-established studio is working on an unannounced AAA free-to-play game and is seeking a highly skilled individual to guide the development and enhancement of their art production pipeline.
As the Lead Technical Artist, you will play a crucial role in collaborating with the Art Director and Art Production Director to ensure the successful implementation of the art production pipeline across various disciplines. Your responsibilities will include advocating for the art team's needs, enforcing best practices, and working closely with the technical and graphics teams.
Additionally, you will have the opportunity to manage and mentor the Tech Art team while continuously expanding your own skill set through collaboration with talented teammates.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and global community of developers, where you can contribute your expertise, learn from others, and have a significant impact on the art production process.
Reports To
As the Lead Technical Artist, you will report directly to the Art Production Director.
What will you do?
- Create, improve, and enforce the use of art production tools and pipelines across all art disciplines.
- Collaborate with Art Leads to define technical requirements and assist in formulating requests for new technology or shaders.
- Evaluate tech requests to ensure they align with project needs before they are implemented.
- Collaborate with the technical, tools, and graphics teams to assign new requests to the appropriate individuals.
- Drive the quality of art production tools and explore innovative tooling solutions.
- Work closely with the Art Production Director to ensure high-level art goals can be achieved and anticipate any long-term technical dependencies.
- Coordinate with the Technical Director to anticipate and address any tech decisions or changes that may impact the Art department.
- Manage and guide the Tech Art team, providing mentorship and support for their skills development and career goals.
What are we looking for?
- Proven experience with Unreal Engine 4 (or above) and involvement in at least one full production cycle.
- Strong experience in building art production tools for software such as 3ds Max, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, and Maya.
- Expertise in art pipeline and infrastructure development using Python.
- Comprehensive knowledge of industry-standard art production tools, including Substance, Max, and Maya.
- Solid understanding of modern rendering pipelines, with the ability to assist Art Leads in prototyping shaders in Unreal.
- Expert understanding of performance optimization techniques and related software, such as Renderdoc, Pix, and Unreal Insights.
- Proficient in Blueprint scripting within Unreal to develop editor tools for the art team.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Strong motivation to advocate for the art team's interests and collaborate across departments.
- Ability to identify and address potential problems in other areas that may impact the art team.
- Proficiency in version control systems such as Perforce and Git, with the ability to teach essential concepts to artists.
What additional skills will help you stand out?
- C++ proficiency with Unreal would be a strong advantage.
- Knowledge of shader development and creation, although not mandatory, would be beneficial.
- Familiarity with procedural content generation tools like Houdini Engine.
If you are a highly motivated and skilled Lead Technical Artist seeking an opportunity to contribute to the development of an unannounced AAA free-to-play game, we encourage you to apply. Join this dynamic and passionate team and help shape the future of gaming while advancing your own career in the process.
