Senior Technical Artist: Facial Rigging

At Rockstar Games, we create world-class entertainment experiences. 

Become part of a team working on some of the most rewarding, large-scale creative projects to be found in any entertainment medium - all within an inclusive, highly-motivated environment where you can learn and collaborate with some of the most talented people in the industry. 

Rockstar is looking for an experienced and passionate Technical Artist to help develop and support our titles. This role will also involve the research and development of new technology for future titles, as well as improving existing technology and tools.

This is a full-time, in-office position based out of Rockstar’s new state-of-the-art game development studio in Carlsbad, CA. 

WHAT WE DO

• We design, create, and maintain highly complex deformation systems for characters, animals and vehicles that bring our 3D assets to life.
• We support rigging pipelines, including investigations for improvement of facial rig and animation solving solutions.
• We work with Technical Artists to maintain and improve our proprietary animation tools.
• We bring innovation to dynamic art pipelines through rigs, secondary motion setups, and evolving our tools and workflows – from asset creation to its visualization in the engine.
• We collaborate and communicate with other departments such as Tools and Code teams to improve our authoring workflows and animation/graphics systems in runtime.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build, test, and maintain body and face rigs, skinning, and secondary motion setups for a variety of 3D assets.
• Use proprietary system to create and export constraints, custom deformers, and secondary motion to the game engine.
• Work closely with animators, automation, and other TAs to create tools and improve pipelines that ensure the best results from our production workflows and processes.
• Support facial pipeline and be heavily involved in face assets from motion capture.
• Work with the team organizing, documenting, and maintaining libraries of rig modules that can be shared by a large team of riggers through multiple projects.
• Support and help create production tools to support new pipelines and future tech.
• Staying current with latest technologies/research ongoing in the field to help keep our dynamic art visuals at the cutting-edge regarding motion and deformation.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Relevant experience in the game industry as a Character Rigger, Technical Animator, or similar/related position.
• A demo reel and online portfolio that demonstrates exceptional skills creating motion controls for animation, complex deformation and skinning of body and face of characters and creatures.

SKILLS

• Strong Python programming skills, and a 3D math background.
• Experience creating tools for Rigging and Animation.
• Experience using source control software (i.e. Perforce, Git).
• Strong communication, self-management, and organizational skills.

PLUSES

Please note that these are desirable skills and are not required to apply for the position.

• Professional experience developing pipelines and creating tools is highly advantageous.
• Experience programming C++ plugins for Motionbuilder, Maya, 3DS Max, or similar DCCs.
• Experience using other game engines (e.g. Unreal/Unity or proprietary tech).
• Knowledge of current facial capture approaches, FACS poses, facial blend shape rigs, feature detection, etc.
• Experience using a solver based face animation package (Dynamixyz or Faceware).
• Professional experience as an Artist or Animator in games.

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply with a resume and cover letter demonstrating how you meet the skills above. If we would like to move forward with your application, a Rockstar recruiter will reach out to you to explain next steps and guide you through the process.

Rockstar is committed to creating a work environment that promotes equal opportunity, dignity and respect. In line with this commitment, Rockstar will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants with disabilities during the recruitment process in order for such applicants to be considered for the position for which they are applying, as well as to qualified employees to enable them to perform the essential functions of their roles. If you need more information about Rockstar’s reasonable accommodation policies or process, or need to request an accommodation, please contact the Human Resources Department.                                   

** For those based in Toronto, Rockstar will provide accommodations to job applicants and employees as long as such accommodations do not pose an undue hardship on Rockstar, and consistent with its obligations under the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

If you’ve got the right skills for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from all suitable candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief, race, or any other protected category.