Your Mission

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a skilled Principal Character Artist to help craft Blizzard’s next great game. You should have extensive experience working with modeling, sculpting, and texturing tools to achieve stylized and photorealistic characters, environments, and props. Additionally, you should have a strong technical background in the modeling process.

Location fixed:

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, CA.

What You Bring to the Table

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

Lead the creation of high-quality, detailed 3D models for characters, environments, and props.
Collaborate with the Art Director and other team leads to ensure artistic consistency and quality.
Mentor and provide guidance to junior modelers/character artists.
Work closely with the animation and technical teams to ensure models are optimized for performance.
Stay current with and continually research trends, tools, and techniques within our industry to see how they can benefit our workflows and push innovation.
Assist with the recruitment and training of new team members.

Minimum Requirements

Experience

10+ years of 3D modeling and texturing experience within the gaming industry.
Experience using various modeling and 3D packages, such as Maya, Zbrush, and Substance Painter, in a production environment.
Proven experience working on at least two AAA game titles.

Knowledge & Skills

Strong texturing and shading skills to develop highly optimized assets for use in game engines.
Thorough understanding of anatomy, form, and detail in modeling.
Strong leadership and communication skills.
Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Computer Graphics, or a related field.

Key Attributes

Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
Proven capability to achieve and surpass specified artistic targets.

Extra Points

Extensive experience working with a AAA game engine, e.g. Unreal, Unity, etc.
Knowledge of scripting languages such as Python or MEL.
Experience with photogrammetry and scanning techniques.
Understanding of rigging and deformation.
Familiarity with Blizzard games and cinematics.

Submission/Application Requirements:

Resume (PDF file preferred).
Link to a portfolio, and / or reel showcasing high-quality, detailed 3D models.
Breakdown of the work on your reel.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $116,800.00 - $216,000.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.