Lead Character Technical Artist

Please note: For Irish residents/citizens, this role is offered as a full-time employee position. For applicants based outside of Ireland, this role will be offered as a contractor position.

We're VOID Interactive, the kick-ass team behind the best-selling FPS game, Ready or Not. We're a team of talented individuals who love games and thrive on creating extraordinary experiences together. We’re seeking a dedicated and innovative Lead Character Tech Artist to join us remotely and help elevate our projects to even greater heights.

As our Lead Character Tech Artist, you will drive the development and implementation of high-quality character assets, ensuring technical efficiency and visual excellence. Your role will focus on refining character pipelines, optimising performance, and collaborating across disciplines to bring immersive and responsive character interactions to life!

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Leading the technical direction of character creation, rigging, and animation pipelines, ensuring high-quality and efficient workflows.
• Developing and maintaining scalable and optimised character rigs that meet animation and gameplay needs.
• Collaborating with animators, character artists, and programmers to ensure seamless character movement and behaviour in-game.
• Creating and implementing advanced deformation and skinning solutions to enhance character realism and articulation.
• Overseeing the integration of characters into Unreal Engine, ensuring compatibility and performance across different platforms.
• Designing and maintaining tools and scripts for animators and TDs to streamline character asset workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance efficiency.
• Troubleshooting and resolving technical character-related issues, balancing visual fidelity and performance.
• Staying up to date with the latest industry trends and innovations in character technology to continuously improve our pipeline.
• Documenting best practices, workflows, and technical solutions to ensure knowledge sharing across the team.

Here’s what you’ll be bringing to the team:

• A strong portfolio showcasing technical character work in games.
• 7+ years of experience in a Character Tech Artist role within the gaming industry.
• Expertise in Unreal Engine 5, including Animation Blueprints, Control Rigs, Metahumans and character physics systems.
• Proficiency in rigging and skinning techniques for realistic and stylised characters.
• Experience in component based "piece system" in-game character creation.
• Strong knowledge of real-time character animation systems, IK/FK setups, and blend shape workflows.
• Proficiency in at least one programming/scripting language (Python, MEL, C++, etc.) for tool development and automation.
• Experience optimising character assets for performance while maintaining high-quality visuals.
• Strong problem-solving skills with a balance of artistic and technical considerations.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to achieve high-quality results.
• A passion for games and a drive to push character fidelity and animation to the next level.
• Willingness to work with a global team, outside of the normal 9-5 office hours.

Bonus Knowledge:

• Experience with motion capture systems and retargeting workflows.
• Experience as an Animator with Applied knowledge of desirable systems and tools
• Familiarity with facial animation pipelines, including blend shapes, FACS-based rigs, and lip-sync technology.
• Experience with Houdini or other procedural character rigging tools.

If this sounds like you, please submit your resume, portfolio, and an optional brief cover letter detailing your relevant experience and why you’re excited about this opportunity. 

Please note that salary is determined by the location of the applicant, market rates, and relevant experience.