Ascendant Studios is looking for a technical artist dedicated to Unreal’s animation system for our upcoming AAA title. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of Unreal's animation system, animation blueprints, state machines, notifiers, physics bodies, control rigs, modular characters, dynamics, cloth, IK, Blendshapes, retargeting, sockets and rigging. They will have a passion for procedural animation, and will always be striving for that extra inch in fidelity and performance.

This is a full time position. We are all currently working remotely due to Covid-19, but once we return you are welcome to work from our beautiful office in San Rafael, CA, or remain fully remote

What you'll do:

• Author/Manage and design animation blueprints, control structures and dynamics for our unique and diverse characters
• Create physics and cloth setups
• Work tightly with other character technical artists to provide a smooth workflow for animation and design
• Work directly with artists to understand inefficiencies in their processes and create effective solutions
• Update and maintain existing toolsets already integrated into Ascendant’s pipelines.
• Readily provide mentorship to fellow Technical Artists
• Proactively work to identify and provide solutions to issues before they escalate into larger problems

Who you are:

• 5+ years of experience as a technical artist in games or related industries
• Extensive knowledge of Unreal’s animation and blueprint system
• Thorough understanding of rigging in Maya
• Experienced in the optimization of both assets and pipelines
• Experience in Pythom programming and the willingness to use that knowledge for good or evil
• A passion for exploring new techniques and applications that will make everyone’s lives easier

Bonus Points:

• C++, MGear, Motion Builder, Live Link, Control Rig, ART V1 and/or XSens experience
• Worked on 1st person shooters and/or action games from beginning to end of a development cycle.
• Previous experience on a multiplayer title.