Principal Technical Artist

T-Minus Zero is a new, first-party, remote first studio formed by veteran game developers. Our mission is to build epic, immersive action games where players from around the world play together to form strong vibrant communities around our games. Our studio culture begins with implicit trust in everyone we hire. We are an open, friendly, mature, and highly collaborative environment that expertly balances quality of life with quality of work. We are looking for people who have a passion for making great player experiences. If you are looking for new opportunities check out all our open positions to see if there's a match for you.

We are looking for an experienced Principal Technical Artist to join our team and play a crucial role in driving initiatives that bridge the gap between art and technology. In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of art and animation production, optimizing workflows, and ensuring the artistic vision is realized through efficient and effective technical solutions. Your expertise will be essential in driving technical art solutions and collaborating closely with both artists and engineers to improve the visual fidelity and performance of our games. This position is ideal for someone who possesses a strong technical background in game development, deep experience creating complex rigging for characters and creatures, and a hunger for technical innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop tools for creating complex rigs and the rigs themselves for characters, creature, and weapons in various DCC software.
• Help to develop and maintain scripted rigging modules to meet the needs and standards of our animation team.
• Delivery of in-game physics assets for ragdolls, secondary animation, hair, and cloth.
• Partner with the Lead Tech Artist, artists, and engineers to develop and refine the art production pipeline and workflow best practices.
• Develop and maintain tools and scripts to streamline art processes and improve team efficiency and empower creativity.
• Ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and be a liaison with design, engineering, and production teams to execute on tasks within the technical constraints of the project.
• Train and support artists on new tools and techniques and create documentation.
• Troubleshoot and solve technical issues related to animation and rigging from DCC to in-engine.

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in a technical artist role with a focus on rigging within the game industry and at least one shipped AAA title.
• Proficient scripting/programming skills in Python.
• Proven experience with Unreal Engine, including and Control Rig, post-animation Blueprints, IK setup, and secondary deformation.
• Experience developing and working with mo-cap pipelines and software such as MotionBuilder and animation retargeting in Unreal Engine.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a self-directed manner, plus a willingness to jump into the unknown and solve new problems; the ability to think creatively to resolve technical challenges and limitations.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Unreal Chaos physics especially for cloth and secondary animation elements. Experience with Chaos as it applies to destruction is a bonus.
• Ability to build a complex facial rig from scratch. Knowledge of FACS and joint-driven facial rigs as they apply to runtime content.
• Experience with Unreal shader creation and optimization.

Compensation Range:

• United States: $150,000 - $200,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other protected status as required as by law.