Senior Character Pipeline TD

We are looking for an experienced Senior Character Pipeline TD to combine their technical skills, artistic eye, and passion for games and storytelling to help bring characters to life and push the quality and realism of next-gen characters. You will work in a highly collaborative environment with talented and hardworking artists and TDs to build an efficient character pipeline to deliver a visually stunning game experience!

Responsibilities:

• Not a rigging position (please see Character/Rigging TD opening)! This is a Tools and Tech Art role
  Support the technical feature and tooling needs of the character art pipeline, both in DCC and in game
• Assist, guide and facilitate character modeling and material workflows
• Work closely with Character Art Lead to research and implement solutions for art features needed in creating high end character assets
• Design/Build an efficient character asset pipeline and toolset to improve processes
• Work with character rigging, cloth, and shader TDs to develop runtime solutions that meet both visual and performance requirements
• Incorporate third-party toolsets into character pipeline
• As needed, help create assets/contents that require technical expertise 
• Create/Maintain workflow, tools usage and best practice documentations

Requirements & Skills:

• (Required) Maya Expertise in areas of modeling and texturing
• (Required) In-depth Knowledge of Unreal texture/material setups and workflows
• (Required) Strong Python experience in the areas of tools, UI (e.g., PyQt), and Maya Scripting
• (Highly Preferred) Development experience in Unreal and using Blueprints
• (Highly Preferred) Experience using Substance tool suite
• (Preferred) Relevant industry experience producing high end 3D assets
• (Preferred) Houdini knowledge and procedural workflow experience
• (Preferred) Experience setting up photo-realistic characters/creatures
• (Preferred) Degree in computer art and/or related technical field
• (Preferred) Familiarity with character rigging principles
• (Bonus) Experience with photogrammetry and scan post processes
• (Bonus) Experience with game physics and cloth setups
• (Bonus) Maya API / Plugin Experience

Qualities:

• Proven track record to balance tasks in a fast-paced development environment
• Self-motivated and capable of finding solutions on one's own
• Capable of switching tasks quickly to address emergent production issues in a professional manner
• Phenomenal verbal and written communication skills to clearly articulate issues and risks
• Collaborative and open to feedback
• High desire/focus to help make artists' lives better and processes more efficient/scalable, constantly mindful of areas of workflow improvements
• Phenomenal attention to detail, and ability to deliver consistent results