Senior Technical Artist

Who We Are:

Founded by an MMO legend who has led AAA teams for over 20 years, our new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle (FPC) is building an original fantasy IP from scratch. Players will be regularly engaged in our development process from early stages as part of our open and transparent studio culture, and we aim to craft an IP that will be worthy of their passion and dedication for decades to come. 

We are committed to being a fully remote and global studio, so that we can hire world-class people and have them live their best lives. We think top-heavy bureaucracy stifles creativity, so we aim to stay small as we focus on delivering a game and a world that players will love. We are fully-funded, and the team will share in all of our studio's successes. We're seeking talented teammates to join us in our journey so we encourage you to apply if you're interested, even if you're not sure you check all the boxes.

Position Overview:

As a Senior Technical Artist, you will be responsible for collaborating closely between the art, engineering, and design departments, helping realize the artistic vision in engine with new advancements in technology, while maintaining performance and technical standards. This is an excellent opportunity to make a significant impact on the visual quality and technical excellence of our upcoming AAA title(s). We are looking for a collaborative game developer who can contribute innovative ideas, engage in prototyping, have technical understanding to help drive our project from the conceptual stage through implementation, and bring our unique and compelling world to life. 

Responsibilities:

• Use your expertise in Technical and Environment Art to leverage and amplify the creative skills and output of our development team.
• Design and implement efficient art pipelines and workflows that optimize the creation, integration, and iteration of art assets preferably within Unreal 5 PCG.
• Establish and maintain best practices for asset optimization, performance, and memory management, ensuring smooth gameplay experiences across various platforms.
• Utilize modern tools and techniques for creating modular, performant, and game-ready content.
• Working alongside Art, Engineering, and Design to evolve areas of development and create prototype assets to help facilitate cross department work as needed.
• Work with the tools team to develop and improve artist-friendly tools that enhance the efficiency and quality of the art production pipeline.
• Foster effective communication and collaboration between the art and engineering teams, serving as a bridge to ensure a cohesive development process.

Requirements:

• A bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in Art, Graphic Design, Game Design, or a related field.
• 6+ years experience as a senior artist within a game studio
• In-depth knowledge of various game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine) and the ability to work with their scripting languages and editor tools.
• Proficiency in 3D art software (e.g., Maya, 3ds Max) and a strong understanding of real-time rendering techniques.
• Proficiency in using Substance Tools (Designer & Painter) and PBR workflows.
• Proficiency with industry-standard 3D software, Zbrush and Maya (or other 3D modeling tools).
• Familiarity with shader programming languages (e.g., HLSL, GLSL) and experience creating and optimizing shaders.
• An understanding of the impact of Environment Art on Level Design.
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate design concepts and rationales to other team members and stakeholders.
• Capability for self-directed work and taking a brief prompt and/or idea and pushing the visual boundaries to create something inspiring.
• Work well on a highly collaborative team, providing constructive feedback to help steer the efforts of developers in and outside the Art department.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working on and shipping AAA titles (previous work on an MMO is a big plus).
• Strong understanding and practical experience with next-generation asset creation workflows.
• Proficiency with industry-standard software, including Photoshop, Houdini and/or other procedural tooling skills.
• Proficiency with advanced in-game lighting skills.
• Ability to create environment VFX
• Passion for gaming (especially MMOs), with an awareness of current industry trends and an understanding of player expectations.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, able to adapt quickly to new technologies, workflows, and ideas.
• Experience working with Houdini for real time procedural content generation.

*Depending on your level of experience, this role has the potential to be a principal-level technical artist position.