Motion Capture Technical Artist

Welcome to Striking Distance Studios!

Driven by people. Inspired by challenges. Relentless to deliver creative excellence.

At the intersection of art, design and technology lies Striking Distance Studios. We are a AAA development studio within the San Ramon Hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. With the release of our first title, The Callisto Protocol, we are excited to continue to grow our team.

Here at Striking Distance Studios it is amazing people, an immersive experience and a passion for excellence that drives us each day. We are looking for people who push themselves creatively and learn with every new challenge. We give you the setting and the opportunity to do work you are proud of. We’re looking for the best to come join us and become part of a world-class team.

To us excellence is not a skill, but an attitude!

What we are looking for:
Striking Distance is looking for a Motion Capture Technical Artist that can collaborate with our Animation and Tech Art teams to drive our stage to work at peak performance.  Working onsite with the Motion Capture Stage Manager, you will be developing, improving and expanding our pipelines and technologies to meet the needs of the stage in a fast pace and agile development environment.

Responsibilities:

• Build out, troubleshoot, maintain, and document stage production pipelines, going from capture and clean up in Vicon, all the way through live virtual representation and final delivery in Unreal and Maya.
• Ensuring the quality of our data, both during and after its capture, including validation and pipeline tooling, for animation handoff.
• Assist in prepping for, and helping run, motion capture shoots. Maintaining and optimizing optical (Vicon) equipment as well as facial capture equipment
• Delve into code written by other technical artists and take ownership of existing systems as needed.
• Work with our Animation Director and Production to ensure we are equipped to execute on the requirements of our current and future motion capture needs.
• Partner with the Motion Capture Stage Manager to ensure direction for performers can be successful in both in person and remote direction environments.
• Keep current on technological developments and advancements, while helping to determine and drive improvements and technologies that can benefit the needs of the stage
• Create and maintain technical design documents.
• Communicate accurate status updates to your team leads, producers, and QA regarding tasks/features you are responsible for.
• Adhere to team coding standards and best practices.
• Foster a culture of open, honest, and respectful communication across all disciplines.

Qualifications:

• Expertise in Motion Capture hardware and software
• Strong Proficiency in 3D software packages (Maya / MotionBuilder / Vicon / Unreal)
• Strong proficiency in python scripting and pipeline development
• In depth understanding of Motion Capture data acquisition and post-processing pipelines.
• Experienced in working with development teams, collecting and facilitating their needs and requirements before, during, and after the motion capture shoot.
• Thrive in a frequently changing environment.
• At least 1 year of games industry experience and preferably 3 years or more in a similar role. At least 1 year of experience with Unreal Engine.
• Experience shipping games on current generation consoles (PS5 or XSX) and PC.
• Ability to be self-directed, focused, and detail-oriented.
• Knowledgeable in debugging, bug testing, and problem-solving.
• Advanced verbal and written communications skills.
• A highly communicative and collaborative disposition.
• A demonstrable love / passion for game making and storytelling

Bonus Skills:

• Experience in acting, dancing, martial arts/ combat, athletics, or some performing art

In California, the expected salary range for this position is $80,000-$110,000. The listed expected salary range represents a good faith estimate and the actual pay may depend on a variety of job-related factors that can include experience, education, skills, and location.

Striking Distance Studios provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Due to recent scams, our recruiters will only reach out to you via @sds.com, @krafton.com or @pubg.com. If you received an email and are unsure you can always email recruiting@sds.com.