Senior Technical Artist

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to critical and player acclaim. As the most played PC game in the world, over 100 million play every month. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience. 

We’re looking for humble but ambitious, razor-sharp professionals who can teach us a thing or two. We promise to return the favor. Like us, you take play seriously; you’re passionate about games. We embrace those who see things differently, aren’t afraid to experiment, and who have a healthy disregard for constraints.

That's where you come in.

At the Riot Singapore Efficiency team, we're driven by innovation and optimization. Our team harnesses the power of Machine Learning approaches and Artificial Intelligence to reimagine the way we build games. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, we aim to streamline development processes, enhance creative workflows, which finally deliver immersive experiences to Players around the globe. Join us in pushing the boundaries of what's possible in game development and shaping the future of interactive entertainment.

We are seeking a skilled Senior Technical Artist with experience in building and optimizing pipelines, as well as developing innovative approaches to join our Efficiency Team. As a Technical Artist, you will focus on creating tools and workflows to accelerate artists' pipelines in our live video games. Additionally, you will collaborate with producers, game designers, and engineers from our live game teams. Your expertise will be crucial in advancing our experiments and prototypes to become visually stunning, performant, and seamlessly integrated production tools that aid in the continuous development of our video games.

Responsibilities:

• As a knowledgeable Tech Artist specializing in ML and AI, you will help drive the ML and AI iteration process by overseeing dataset creation, contributing to technical discovery and prototyping, supporting model tuning, and assisting with model management. While you won't be directly building models, you'll facilitate the provision of datasets, play a key role in prototyping, and help enhance overall user experiences.
• Collaborate closely with game teams and artists to identify workflow bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
• Design, develop, and maintain tools to streamline the creation, iteration, and integration of artistic assets in our live video games.
• Implement automated processes and workflows to enhance efficiency and productivity for artists working with Machine Learning-generated content.
• Provide technical support and assistance to artists using the tools you develop, ensuring they have the resources they need to succeed.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest tools, techniques, and best practices in technical art and tools development.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to data scientists on technical best practices for artistic approaches.
• Present products to non-technical partners and collaborators

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Graphics, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in game development.
• Strong proficiency in 3D art creation tools such as SideFX Houdini, Maya, Blender, 3ds Max, with a focus on deep understanding of internals, including industry-standard file/data formats, and experience with plugin implementation.
• Proficiency in scripting and programming languages such as Python, C#, or C++.
• Experience with game engines such as Unreal Engine, Unity, or equivalent proprietary engines.
• Proven track record of developing tools and workflows to accelerate artists' pipelines in live video game environments.
• Knowledge of AI and Machine Learning techniques, particularly as they relate to game development, is a plus.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and attention to detail.

Our Perks:

• Full relocation support
• Full health insurance for you, your spouse, and children
• Open paid time off
• Retirement benefits with company matching
• Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability
• Play Fund so you can broaden and deepen your knowledge of our players and community through games
• We will double down on your donations of time and money to non-profits

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!