That’s No Moon Entertainment is an independent AAA game development studio established in 2021 by veterans of some of the most recognizable and critically acclaimed creative teams in the world, including Naughty Dog, Infinity Ward, Santa Monica Studio, Bungie, PlayStation, and more. Based in Los Angeles and San Diego, That’s No Moon Entertainment is creating the next generation of narrative-driven, genre-defining experiences built upon a culture of creativity, collaboration, responsible production practices, and individual empowerment. We are assembling a diverse team of passionate developers of a wide range of experience levels and backgrounds to help shape the future of our studio and projects.

We are looking for a Lead Facial Rigging TD to combine their technical expertise, artistic eye, and passion for game and animation to help drive the quality of next-gen digital human and push ground-breaking realism. This is a hands-on role where you will supervise the facial rigging team and participate in a highly collaborative environment and work with hardworking artists and animators as well as external tech and service vendors to develop and innovate techniques to drive blockbuster film level quality and deliver a compelling and visually stunning game experience.

Responsibilities:

Oversee the face rigging pipeline, toolset, and workflow standards to drive and deliver character assets at industry-leading quality and photorealism
Hands-on leadership and mentoring of junior level riggers
Collaborate with Art and Engineering teams to research, develop, and adopt current technology and techniques to improve the visual results while keeping mindful of production efficiency as well as game engine performance budgets
Work with production to determine and execute team tasks and schedules
Communicate scope and risks effectively with art, tech, and production partners
Evaluate and provide specification to external technology providers and wrangle the assets received from service vendors
Set up assets that require technical expertise, specifically high-end face rigs for in game and cinematic animation that conform to studio standards with consistency
Work closely with scanning team and blendshape modelers to ensure assets have proper topology and deformations in game that meet technical requirements
Work closely with animators to ensure control interface is easy to use and deliver rigs that are thoroughly tested for performance and stability
Evaluate/maintain/build tools to streamline rig setup and facilitate animation workflows
Create/Maintain relevant usage documentation

Requirements & Skills:

(Required) 7+ years of rigging experience in game, film, vfx, or relevant industries
(Required) Experience in a lead or supervisory role
(Required) Expert knowledge in real-time photorealistic facial tech and setups, current scanning and solving technologies, animation principles and standard methodologies, and face muscle anatomy
(Required) Detailed knowledge of Facial Action Coding System (FACS)
(Required) Maya Expertise in areas of rigging and animation
(Preferred) Python experience in the areas of tools, UI (e.g., PyQt), and Maya Scripting
(Preferred) Familiarity with 4D scanning technology and usage trade-offs
(Preferred) Familiarity with deformation systems leveraging machine learning
(Preferred) Experience creating robust rigs for Performance Capture
(Preferred) Experience delivering efficient real-time setups used in game engine such as Unreal
(Preferred) Degree in animation or related art and/or technical field
(Bonus) Maya API / Plugin Experience

Qualities:

Great verbal and written communication skills to clearly articulate technical requirements, production standards, issues, and risks
Collaborative, team-oriented, and open to feedbacks
Proven track record to be organized and balance multiple initiatives in a fast-paced development environment
Self-motivated and capable to find and propose solutions
Capable of switching tasks quickly to address emergent production issues in a professional manner
Have great patience and enjoy mentoring and explaining sophisticated concepts
Ability to learn and incorporate new features and techniques quickly into workflow High desire/focus to help making artists' lives better and processes more efficient/scalable, constantly mindful of areas of workflow improvements
Great attention to details, and ability to deliver consistent results

That's No Moon is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ancestry, color, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, legally protected physical or mental disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.