As part of the Technical Art team, you will oversee tool creation and maintenance for all art disciplines. Working closely with animation, modeling, and maps teams, you will uncover new ways to improve workflow and ensure functionality, consistency, and quality. As a support, you will make sure our pipeline is adapting correctly to the creative needs of the product, while also helping inform our creative direction from an art content production view.
VALORANT is Riot’s take on a character-based tactical shooter (for more info on VALORANT click here!). As a Senior Technical Artist on the VALORANT team, you will rig character assets, set them up in the Unreal Engine, and work closely with developers of all disciplines to bring these characters to life. Your work in the engine will include setting up character assets, setting up character dynamics, and creating runtime rigging solutions. You will support animators, modelers, and artists on the team as they create assets, developing scripts to help improve their workflows and remove technical barriers and inefficiencies.
Responsibilities:
- Help design and build the tools, pipelines, shaders, and art techniques for creating our content in the most efficient and effective way possible.
- Work with content support teams to maintain an efficient and sustainable approach for memory/performance
- Rig characters and props, working closely with animators to achieve engaging in-game performance.
- Prototype new art assets and build asset generation pipelines
- Set-up character assets in the engine (meshes, animation blueprints, dynamics)
- Provide technical support to art and animation in both Maya and Unreal Engine 4
- Consistently give and take constructive feedback, direct next steps, and communicate clear goals and outcomes to your team
Required Qualifications:
- 5+ years of professional experience as a technical artist in games or related industries
- Expertise in game development using modern game engines such as Unreal or Unity
- Expertise in content creation tools, particularly Maya
- Ability to diagnose and optimize real-time 3D graphics
- Highly proficient communication skills and capacity to act as an ambassador between art and engineering
Desired Qualifications:
- Graphics programming knowledge such as Python, C# or C++
- Experience developing in Unreal
- Experience with the technical requirements for a variety of game platforms
- Experience as a Senior Artist or Lead
- Working knowledge of real-time material shader writing abilities
When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality technical art. And as a part of the application process, you may also be asked to complete an art test.
Our Perks:
We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children. Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available. Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations. Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games.
It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00).
