Stylized Character Rigger (12-Month FTC)

PLAY, GROW and WIN

To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator.  

At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004. 

Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.

At Virtuos, we are at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences daily. Join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.

About Us: Black Shamrock is a leading game development studio that thrives on creating captivating worlds and immersive gameplay. We’re developing a fast-paced, stylized game filled with exaggerated character motion, expressive creatures, and dynamic environmental action.

The game's animation style leans into bold squash-and-stretch, snappy timing, and a strong sense of personality—built for maximum clarity and energy during gameplay.

From bipedal heroes to multi-legged monsters, oversized weapons to reactive props, this game is animation-driven at its core. We’re looking for a Technical Rigger who can bring those elements to life with clean, scalable, animator-friendly rigs. 

About the Position: As a Technical Rigger, you’ll create high-quality rigs for stylized characters, creatures, props, and environment elements, optimized for real-time use in Unreal Engine. You’ll work closely with animators and technical artists to ensure rigs support expressive performance and fast, responsive iteration.

You’ll also have the opportunity to shape pipeline tools and workflows—especially those that support exaggeration, deformation quality, and efficient asset integration. 

• Build flexible, stylized rigs for bipedal characters, multi-limbed creatures, weapons, and dynamic props.
• Support animation needs through strong deformation (especially shoulders, hips, and complex joint setups).
• Deliver rigs optimized for both authoring in Maya and integration in Unreal Engine 5.
• Ensure squash-and-stretch, clear posing, and expressive motion are fully supported through the rig setup.
• Work with animators to test rigs and iterate based on feedback.
• Develop or refine rigging tools/scripts (e.g., for automation, skinning, export).
• Maintain clean scene organization, naming conventions, and efficient hierarchies. 

Need to Have:

• 3+ years of professional experience in character/creature rigging for games or animation.
• Strong proficiency in Autodesk Maya (rigging, constraints, deformers, skinning).
• Experience rigging stylized characters with exaggerated proportions or motion.
• Solid understanding of squash-and-stretch animation principles and how to support them technically.
• Comfortable working on multi-legged creatures or non-humanoid rigs.
• Ability to create clear, animator-friendly control systems and GUI pickers.
• Familiar with tools and techniques for clean skinning (e.g., ngSkinTools or similar).
• Working knowledge of Python scripting for pipeline/tool development. 

Nice to Have:

• Familiarity with facial rigging workflows (blendshapes, joints, or hybrid).
• Experience using or adapting MetaHuman assets or workflows.
• Curiosity around AI/ML tools (e.g., auto-riggers, skinning automation, procedural rigging).
• Exposure to real-time performance optimization for rig exports.
• Experience collaborating in Unreal Engine on gameplay-integrated assets.