Senior Technical Artist - Character Rigger

WHO WE ARE:
Next Level Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

We’ve been passionate about video game development for 20 years now, shipping award-winning games for fans across the world and still going strong. Some of our titles include Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, Punch-Out!!, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Metroid Prime Federation Force, Luigi’s Mansion 3 and most recently Mario Strikers™: Battle League. 

At NLG, we believe that a project finds success when we collaborate. Therefore, we place careful consideration to build an environment where everyone feels welcome and has fun in the process of achieving our shared goals. 

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING: 
We are seeking a Senior Technical Artist – Character Rigger to join our team at Next Level Games. Help us elevate character animation in an environment that champions creativity, collaboration and technical excellence.

Please note this is a hybrid position, requiring at least three days per week at our Vancouver studio. 

• Work with Artists, Designers, and Engineers to prepare character and prop assets that conform to studio standards of quality and consistency 
• Incorporate the latest runtime and offline rig setup techniques to deliver exceptional expressive capability while maintaining runtime performance budgets 
• Collaborate with modelers to ensure asset topology meets technical requirements for high quality in-game deformation.   
• Provide technical expertise, constructive feedback, and best practices to enhance team efficiency and growth 
• Leverage your understanding of cloth, hair and rigid body simulations for our game needs 
• Partner with Designers, Artists, and Animators to reflect their intentions during the prototyping phase of character development. 
• Unlock animator potential by providing intuitive control interfaces and ensuring rigs are thoroughly tested for performance and stability   
• Negotiate complex technical challenges and provide solutions to issues that arise in the rigging process.  Understand the motivations of different departments, weigh the technical and artistic tradeoffs between different approaches, and elevate our collaboration by bringing those groups together. 
• Help establish animation tools, workflows, and pipelines to improve rigging efficiency   
• Create/Maintain relevant usage documentation  
• Provide your expertise to help mitigate risk / loss of work across rig iterations 

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR: 

• Strong communication skills 
• Strong Maya Skills 
• A strong understanding of Python/classes/ Maya API 
• Understanding of Perforce workflow or similar source control system 
• A highly collaborative, creative, and innovative spirit 
• Strong multi-discipline problem solving skills 
• Organized and self-motivated 
• 5+ years of professional rigging experience in game, film, vfx, or relevant industries 
• Include a link to your art portfolio or animation reel 

• Competitive benefits and annual leave, including discretionary performance bonus program and  health coverage 
• Support for mental health, financial well-being, legal assistance and more through our Employee Assistance Program 
• Access to our in-studio gym, and an extensive media library filled with games and books 
• Join a committee – board games, sports, or something else – it’s all here!  
• Discounted shopping for Nintendo products and merchandise at the online employee store 
• A workplace that values inclusivity and encourages continuous growth   
• A chance to be part of Nintendo, creating award winning games that make an impact  

The hiring range for this position is $100,000 - $130,000 CAD annually and is subject to change. The final base salary compensation will be based on factors such as skills, education, and experience.  

We wish to thank all applicants in advance; however, only those under consideration will be contacted.  

We are currently only considering applicants who already have work eligibility and are residing in or willing to relocate to Metro Vancouver.