Why PlayStation?

PlayStation isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The PlayStation family of products and services including PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation®Plus, acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios, and more.

PlayStation also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The PlayStation brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

Join the award-winning team that created God of War

Santa Monica Studio is seeking an experienced Principal Technical Artist for the development of a new unannounced title!

You are into games – you love playing them and you love making them. You want to use your skills to create bigger and more impressive worlds and are full of ideas how to do so. And you’re half coder and half artist – you get both, you help each understand the other, and you can translate from art to tech and back again, so everyone gets the most out of the tools and knows what to ask for to get awesome art up onto the screen.

Responsibilities

Research, define, improve, and maintain artist pipelines, tools, and workflows
Interface with stakeholders. Liaise between team members; drive collaborative projects
Troubleshoot issues; resolve them: invent or build robust, quality technical implementations
Participate in art asset reviews to help identify technical concerns or risks
Partner with leads and directors to meet visual and technical standards
Mentor and guide Art, VFX and/or Lighting team members in areas of expertise; instill best practices

Requirements

Minimum ten years of professional experience in computer-generated art
Understanding of artist workflows, VFX authoring (particles, flip books, flow maps), Lighting theory (PBR/PBL, LUTs), HDR pipeline, color theory, profiling, and/or optimizing for real-time rendering
Experience with HLSL, GLSL or similar shader languages
Expertise of 3D math fundamentals
Proficient scripting/programming experience with Python, PyQT/PySide
Strong understanding of algorithm design and their inherent complexity
Ability to write clean, maintainable and extensible code with attention to reusability
Enthusiasm and initiative
Excellent spoken and written communication
Able and motivated to work with other team members

Preferred Experience

Industry experience working on or shipping AAA titles
Programming experience with C++
Knowledge or experience in procedural asset creation like Houdini, Substance
Expert ability in 3D modelling DCCs such as Maya or equivalent

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about how we process your personal information, and your data protection rights.

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location. Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package. Click here to learn more.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$170,100—$255,100 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

PlayStation is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

About The Company

Our studio is composed of a group of diverse, ambitious, highly collaborative creatives who empower one another, while working as a team to deliver high quality narrative-driven PlayStation experiences. With origins spanning the globe - from Brazil to Poland to small town USA, we are home to over 250 world class developers who strive to push the medium forward with every creative decision.

Every team has a story and, at the heart of our story, we are committed to greatness and steadfast in our craft of developing unforgettable in-game experiences that inspire our players. Beyond that, though, we are driven by something much larger…by a desire to develop “stories” of greatness for each and every team member. Making a game is a massive undertaking. Between QA, Art, Design, Programming, Production, Sound and every department in between, we are all responsible for connecting with each other's greatest skills, while working towards a common vision.

Together, we sow seeds of possibility. Whether you are an intern or an industry veteran, creativity rules here. At our studio we recognize that great ideas can come from anyone. Traversing a new mythological world on a boat. A single camera shot for an entire game. A powerful recalling axe. A companion AI known as “boy” fighting like a god. These are just some of the bold ideas that were not simply lit by an individual light bulb...they were forged from idea, to paper, to code in a collaborative effort by creatives of all disciplines on a journey to reinvent a franchise.