Welcome to Maxis, home to tinkerers, craftspeople, & storytellers. Our drive is to inspire everyone to make a better world through creative play. As the developer of The Sims, we create games and experiences for millions of people around the world and are always looking for new ways to inspire our players. Maxis is a place where you can do what you love and help others grow while doing it; a place where your unique voice can be heard and seen. We put creativity and inclusivity at the core of our work and don't settle for seeing the world only as it is, but strive to build a world as it could be.
Teams are building the next generation game and creative platform, Project Rene and reimagining The Sims that players know and love with even more new ways to play. We're excited you're interested to learn more about how you can join our team and dream big.
You will be reporting to the Senior Technical Art Director.
Location: Remote North America - open to most North America locations
As a Technical Animator at Maxis, you will collaborate with Animation Directors, Animation Leads, Technical Artists, and Engineers across the studio and EA, to push the boundaries of animation technology. The model applicant is passionate about exploring new technologies, identifying efficiencies, and implementing new solutions for existing and new IPs.
Responsibilities:
Collaborate closely with the Animation Director, Art Director, Engineers, Character Leads and Animation Leads to deliver content pipelines and runtime implementations with a forward-looking goal of delivering industry-leading animation.
Develop and maintain character offline and runtime rig, deformation, & physics workflows and systems, and guide related content pipelines to achieve highest aesthetic standards.
Help developing and maintain a technical animation pipeline from Maya to Unreal.
Create prototypes and pursue research in the field of animation, geared towards applying latest technologies to aesthetic and performance goals for the product.
Collaborate with animation technical direction to define animation performance and optimization requirements, diagnose, profile, and manage content costs with the content team.
Firefight production issues, investigating urgent issues and resolving roadblocks.
Keep up with the latest trends and technical tools for animation content development.
Collaborates with teams across the studio and EA to improve rigging and deformation processes.
Qualifications:
5+ years experience in Unreal Editor with a focus on runtime animation, including Animation Blueprints, Assets, and Editors, etc.
Expert proficiency in developing and maintaining Maya riggs & animation workflows for games.
Experience of animation systems and developing content for runtime animation.
Expert understanding of animation blending techniques and selection structures.
Expert understanding of procedural animation techniques.
3+ years of experience designing and owning large animation systems such as locomotion, combat, crowds, etc.
Experience with designing animation content that integrates with dynamic systems (character and world physics).
Experience architecting facial animation rigging and pipelines.
Experience with human and creature anatomy, proportion, silhouette, and topology.
Experience building custom deformers and blend shape solutions.
Knowledge of traditional, mocap and procedural animation workflows.
Proficiency in Python, Mel, and developing artists production tools.
Ability to create solid documentation and training material.
Knowledge of version control software (Perforce preferred).
Familiarity with ShotGrid(Shotgun), Jira or other bug tracking and project management software.
Ability to collaborate and across multiple disciplines to achieve team technical objectives.
Visit us at: https://www.ea.com/ea-studios/maxis
US COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The base salary ranges listed below are for the defined geographic market pay zones in these states. If you reside outside of these locations, a recruiter will advise on the base salary range and benefits for your specific location.
EA has listed the base salary ranges it in good faith expects to pay applicants for this role in the locations listed, as of the time of this posting. Salary offered will be determined based on numerous relevant business and candidate factors including, for example, education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, and business or organizational needs.
BASE SALARY RANGES
California (depending on location e.g. Los Angeles vs. Sacramento): $113,300 - $171,700
New York (depending on location e.g. Manhattan vs. Buffalo): $111,500 - $171,700
Jersey City, NJ: $126,700 - $171,700
Colorado (depending on location e.g. Denver vs. Colorado Springs): $111,500 - $144,000
Washington (depending on location e.g. Seattle vs. Spokane): $111,500 - $157,300
Base salary is just one part of the overall compensation at EA. We also offer a package of benefits including paid time off (3 weeks per year to start), 80 hours per year of sick time, 16 paid company holidays per year, 10 weeks paid time off to bond with baby, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.
About Electronic Arts
Everything we do is designed to inspire the world to play. Through our cutting-edge games, innovative services, and powerful technologies, we bring worlds with infinite possibilities to millions of players and fans around the globe.
We’re looking for collaborative and inclusive people with diverse perspectives who will enrich our culture and challenge us. We take a holistic approach with our benefits program, focusing on physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness to support our people through every chapter of life. We provide comprehensive benefit packages and support for a balanced life with paid time off and new parent leave, plus free games and so much more. Our goal is to provide a safe and respectful workplace that empowers you to thrive in both work and life.
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We will also consider employment qualified applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable law. EA also makes workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law.
