2K logo
2K

2K develops interactive entertainment for handheld gaming systems, console systems, personal computers, and mobile devices. The gaming and entertainment company

Principal Character Technical Artist

Location

United States

Posted

26 days ago

Salary

$163.4K - $241.9K / year

Seniority

Lead

No structured requirement data.

Job Description

Principal Character Technical Artist

2K

Role Description Characters are the heart of our free-to-play AAA multiplayer action game and the core driver of our economy. Because of this, the Principal Character Technical Artist is one of the most vital roles in our studio. You will use your mastery of DCC applications, Unreal Engine 5, rigging, and complex character and animation pipelines to actively expand the creative decision space for our playable characters. Your technical foresight will directly inform the design process, inspiring the creative leadership with what we are truly capable of building. What You’ll Do - Creative Partnership & Strategy: - Partner with Pillar teams to shape feature development. - Identify technical risks early, propose innovative solutions that elevate core mechanics, and provide strategic estimates to guide R&D investments. - Technical Innovation & Fidelity: - Establish and own the technical standards for character rigging, technical animation, and dynamic presentation (cloth, hair, physics) in UE5. - Actively prototype cutting-edge solutions to ensure our champions compete with the industry's state of the art. - Pipeline Architecture & Tooling: - Maintain and extend a rich and performant character pipeline from DCC applications into Unreal Engine. - Develop procedural tooling that maximizes content creation efficiency and empowers cross-discipline artists across our US and Valencia studios. - Performance & Optimization: - Establish technical budgets and performance benchmarks. - Ensure high visual fidelity is balanced with optimal runtime performance for a live multiplayer environment. - Work with Engineering to ensure character animation systems scale across platform targets. - Mentorship & Leadership: - Guide, deploy, and mentor a team of character technical artists. - Elevate their technical skills and foster a culture of creative problem-solving. Qualifications - 8+ years of game development experience, with at least 3 years in a Senior or Principal Technical Artist role on a shipped AAA title. - Deep expertise in Unreal Engine 5, including Blueprints, Control Rig, Niagara, and physics/cloth simulation. - Expert proficiency in standard DCCs (Maya, Blender, Houdini) and strong scripting skills (Python, C++, or VEX) for tool and pipeline development. - Exceptional understanding of human anatomy, facial/skeletal rigging, weight painting, and procedural animation techniques. Requirements - Experience working on live-service, free-to-play, or multiplayer action games. Benefits - Medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage. - 14 paid holidays per calendar year. - Paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program. - Up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year. - Paid parental and compassionate leave. - Wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support. - Family planning support through Maven. - Commuter benefits. - Reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

Related Categories

Related Job Pages

More 3D Artist Jobs

Mob Entertainment logo

Senior Technical Artist – Lighting Pipeline

Mob Entertainment

Animation & Game Studio • Creator of the hit game "Poppy Playtime!"

3D Artist26 days ago
Full TimeRemoteTeam 51-200Since 2015H1B No Sponsor

• Own the UE5 lighting and bake pipeline end-to-end: configuration, distributed bake workflows, lightmap UV tooling, and bake validation • Build and maintain Python and Unreal Editor tooling that automates lighting and environment tasks and integrates with our Perforce and Jenkins infrastructure • Partner with DevOps to wire bakes and validation into Jenkins and surface pipeline telemetry • Diagnose and fix bake failures, lightmap artifacts, and performance regressions • Profile and optimize lighting cost across PC and console using Unreal Insights, RenderDoc, and stat commands • Maintain technical documentation and debugging guides that let environment artists self-serve • Act as the technical escalation point for lighting and bake-pipeline issues across the studio

United States
Job Closed
Heidi Health logo

Motion Graphics Artist

Heidi Health

It's time to SEE the GP

3D Artist26 days ago
Full TimeRemoteTeam 11-50H1B No Sponsor

• Create motion graphics and animated assets for brand, product, and social content. • Explore and help define motion principles, transitions, and visual behaviours that feed into brand guidelines. • Support brand guideline development, testing motion styles, typography in motion, pacing, and tone. • Produce content for multiple platforms and aspect ratios, including social and product-led formats. • Collaborate with editors to enhance films with motion elements, titles, and graphic systems. • Help adapt and localise motion content for different markets. • Organise and maintain motion assets, templates, and shared files. • Contribute ideas during creative development and early concept stages. • Occasionally support light pre-production tasks such as visual references and style frames.

United Kingdom
Job Closed
Booz Allen Hamilton logo

Virtual Reality 3D Artist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton is an award-winning provider of strategic innovation, management consulting, technology, and engineering services. Founded in 1914, the comp

3D Artist26 days ago

Virtual Reality 3D Artist Location: Bremerton United States Job Description: Virtual Reality 3D Artist The Opportunity: When used in a business setting, art is essentially visual storytelling with a real-world impact. As an immersive artist, you can work with a creative team to model and texture 3D assets. We're looking for someone like you to help us modernize training. Bring your design skills to Booz Allen and help create an immersive experience. On our team, you'll help develop artwork for the applications and demonstrations that play an important role in how clients meet their missions. In this role, you'll have the chance to expand upon your skills and experience in developing and delivering photo-realistic 3D environments and models using industry software, including Maya, Z-Brush, and 3DS Max. Together with a team of experts, you'll create models, textures, and environments for training and simulation. You'll develop both in-game and pre-rendered quality environments for a variety of styles, including realistic geo-specific and general interior. You'll expand your skills and learn lighting techniques and visual effects (VFX) as we support and encourage professional and artistic growth. As part of our innovation laboratory, you'll also get to help the team explore new augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality technology and their capabilities. Join us. The world can't wait. You Have: - 2+ years of experience with 3D modeling and asset creation for virtual reality - 2+ years of experience with virtual reality development workflows, material and shader setup, immersive lighting and environmental effects - 2+ years of experience with organic modeling techniques, hard-surface modeling techniques, and high-level animation creation - 2+ years of experience with industry-standard software such as 3D Studio Max, Maya, and Blender and texture and asset tools such as Photoshop and Substance Painter - 2+ years of experience with game design principles and implementation - Secret clearance - HS diploma or GED Nice If You Have: - 1+ years of experience with front-end design for interactive applications - 1+ years of experience with Graphical User Interface (GUI) design and ZBrush for digital sculpting - 1+ years of experience with Physically Based Rendering (PBR) workflows, Bolt, and character and object rigging Clearance: Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information; Secret clearance is required. Compensation At Booz Allen, we celebrate your contributions, provide you with opportunities and choices, and support your total well-being. Our offerings include health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, as well as paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, work-life programs, and dependent care. Our recognition awards program acknowledges employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our values. Full-time and part-time employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Booz Allen's benefit programs. Individuals that do not meet the threshold are only eligible for select offerings, not inclusive of health benefits. We encourage you to learn more about our total benefits by visiting the Resource page on our Careers site and reviewing Our Employee Benefits page. Salary at Booz Allen is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual's particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements. The projected compensation range for this position is $55,200.00 to $126,000.00 (annualized USD). The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of Booz Allen's total compensation package for employees. This posting will close within 90 days from the Posting Date. Identity Statement As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. Candidate AI Usage Policy AI is a part of our daily work at Booz Allen, and we are committed to the responsible and ethical use of AI tools. However, we want to ensure a fair candidate process based on your own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is prohibited unless permission is explicitly provided. Work Model Our people-first culture prioritizes the benefits of collaboration, whether it occurs in person or virtually. To support engagement and effective communication, employees working virtually are generally expected to have their cameras on during meetings. - Remote: If this position is listed as remote, there may still be occasions when you are required to work in person at a Booz Allen or customer facility. - Hybrid: If this position is listed as hybrid, you will be expected to work from a Booz Allen facility frequently, in alignment with leadership expectations and the needs of the role. You may also be required to work from or visit a customer facility. - Onsite: If this position is listed as onsite, work will primarily be performed at a Booz Allen office or customer facility, where employees will collaborate directly with colleagues and customers as required by the role. Commitment to Non-Discrimination All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.

Washington
$55.2K - $126K / year
2K logo

Technical Artist

2K

2K develops interactive entertainment for handheld gaming systems, console systems, personal computers, and mobile devices. The gaming and entertainment company

3D Artist26 days ago

Title: ARTISTE TECHNIQUE - LOOKDEV / RENDU| Technical Artist - Lookdev Location: Montréal, Quebec, Canada Who we are: Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the world's most influential game development studios. Our studios, responsible for developing 2K's world-class portfolio of games across multiple platforms, include Gearbox, Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, and HB Studios. Our portfolio of titles continues to grow through our global strategic plan, as well as the creation and acquisition of innovative studios whose content continues to inspire millions of players worldwide! 2K publishes titles in the most popular game genres: sports games, shooters, role-playing games, action games, strategy games, as well as casual and family games. Our team of engineers, marketers, artists, writers, data scientists, producers, thinkers and people of action forms the professional editorial backbone of our growing library of critically acclaimed franchises such as NBA 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Mafia, Sid Meier's Civilization, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, WWE 2K and XCOM. At 2K, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive workplace, which means encouraging our team members to come as they are and strive for excellence! We champion diversity and inclusion and want our candidate community to reflect this commitment. We encourage all qualified individuals to explore our international opportunities. 2K is headquartered in Novato, California, and is a label wholly owned by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). What we need: We are looking for a Technical Designer specializing in technical animation and character rigging to help bring expressive and engaging characters to life across multiple titles and regions. You will collaborate with the animation, character art, engineering, and studio leadership teams to implement evolving character systems and animation tools. This role offers the opportunity to grow alongside experienced teams while learning new techniques and contributing to content you are passionate about. What you will do: Design, build and maintain character rigs that support high-quality animation and real-time performance. Develop and support animation tools to improve animator production workflows and iteration speed. Collaborating with animators and character artists to solve deformation, skinning and control challenges. Optimize rigs , skeletons and animation systems according to memory, execution and platform constraints. Support animation state machines , blend trees and real - time animation systems in the engine. Troubleshoot and resolve animation, rigging , and deformation issues throughout production. Documenting rigging standards , animation production workflows, and procedures for cross-functional use by teams. What will make you the ideal person: 3 to 4 years of professional experience as a Technical Designer, Technical Animator or Character Rigger . Strong understanding of the principles of character rigging, skinning , deformation , and animation production workflows . Experience with modern game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar). Experience with Unreal Control Rig and its application during execution. Proficiency in scripting languages ​​such as Python or MEL, and knowledge of engine-integrated scripts. Solid experience with DCC tools such as Maya or equivalent 3D software. Ability to work closely with artists and programmers, translating creative objectives into technical solutions. Strengths: Experience with advanced deformation systems (muscular systems, corrective shapes, pose space deformation ). Knowledge of procedural framework creation tools or node -based production flows . Experience with motion capture ( mocap ) workflows , retargeting, and data cleansing. Knowledge of physics-based animation, ragdolls , or real-time inverse kinematics ( IK ) systems . Experience with Houdini for creating procedural armatures or animation tools. Interest in automation, scalability and long-term maintenance of tools and rigs . As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing qualified individuals with disabilities with reasonable accommodations to enable them to apply for or participate in an interview, perform their essential duties, and enjoy other employment benefits and privileges. Please contact us if you require reasonable accommodations. Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging applications or personal email accounts to contact potential employees or conduct interviews. When we email potential employees, we exclusively use @2K.com addresses. Who We Are 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios responsible for developing 2K’s portfolio of world-class games across multiple platforms, include Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, 31st Union, HB Studios, and 2K SportsLab. Our portfolio of titles is expanding due to our global strategic plan, building and acquiring exciting studios whose content continues to inspire all of us! 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including sports, shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, casual, and family entertainment. Our team of engineers, marketers, artists, writers, data scientists, producers, thinkers and doers, are the professional publishing stewards of 2K’s portfolio currently includes several AAA, sports and entertainment brands, including global powerhouse NBA®️ 2K, renowned BioShock®️, Borderlands®️, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization®️ and XCOM®️ brands; popular WWE®️ 2K and WWE®️ SuperCard franchises, TopSpin 2K25, as well as the critically and commercially acclaimed PGA TOUR®️ 2K At 2K, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We encourage ALL applicants to explore our global positions, even if they don’t meet every requirement for the role. If you're interested in the job and think you have what it takes to work at 2K, we encourage you to apply! What We Need We’re seeking a Technical Artist specializing in technical animation and character rigging to help bring expressive, performant characters to life across multiple titles and regions. You’ll collaborate with animation, character art, engineering, and studio leadership to build scalable character systems and animation tools. This role offers the chance to grow alongside experienced teams while learning new techniques and contributing to content you’re passionate about creating. What You’ll Do Design, build, and maintain character rigs that support high-quality animation and real-time performance Develop and support animation tools to improve animator workflows and iteration speed Collaborate with animators and character artists to solve deformation, skinning, and control challenges Optimize rigs, skeletons, and animation systems for memory, runtime, and platform constraints Support animation state machines, blend trees, and runtime animation systems in-engine Troubleshoot and resolve animation, rigging, and deformation issues throughout production Document rigging standards, animation workflows, and procedures for cross-team use What Will Make You A Great Fit 3–4 years of professional experience as a Technical Artist, Technical Animator, or Character Rigger Strong understanding of character rigging principles, skinning, deformation, and animation pipelines Experience with modern game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity, or similar) Experience with unreal control rig and how to apply it at runtime Proficiency with scripting languages such as Python or MEL, and familiarity with engine-side scripting Solid experience with DCC tools such as Maya or equivalent 3D software Ability to work closely with artists and engineers, translating creative goals into technical solutions Nice to Have Experience with advanced deformation systems (muscle systems, corrective shapes, pose space deformation) Familiarity with procedural rigging tools or node-based workflows Experience with motion capture pipelines, retargeting, and cleanup Knowledge of physics-based animation, ragdolls, or runtime IK systems Experience with Houdini for procedural rigging or animation tools Interest in automation, scalability, and long-term tool and rig maintenance As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation. Please note that 2K Games and its studios never uses instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts. #LI-Hybrid

Canada