About the role
Studio Overview
Visual Concepts is one of the world’s top game development studios, having shipped over 100 multi-sku titles. The studio culture is independent and entrepreneurial, committed to artistry and technical innovation. Studios are located in Novato, Irvine, Budapest, Shanghai, Austin, Boise, Seoul, and Parksville, Canada.
The Team
The NBA Tech Art team is a diverse group of Technical Artists performing a wide variety of tasks. Responsibilities include writing and maintaining tools for the art department, rigging characters, props, and clothing, and solving technical problems.
Role Overview
The Novato team is looking for an expert character rigging artist (temporary) familiar with body and face rigging to work closely with the art team. This role reports to the Lead Technical Artist.
What You Will Do
- Update character rigs to improve deformation and more accurately simulate human anatomy.
- Create math node networks to make new connections for body and face rigs.
- Implement blendshapes and corrective shapes into rigs with the support of the character team.
- Create clean skinweight and blendweight maps.
- Write Python code to automate tasks, create procedural setups, and improve workflow efficiency.
- Diagnose, debug, and resolve character rigging related errors across tools and the game.
- Collaborate with a team of other technical artists to support art teams directly.
- Work closely with engineers and collaborate with multiple art departments to address feedback notes and make art asset requests.
- Contribute to documentation, workflows, and pipeline improvements that scale across the team.
Qualifications
- Technical Skills:
- Strong expertise in Autodesk Maya.
- Strong understanding of human anatomy and deformation.
- Working knowledge of scripting in Python/PyMel.
- Familiarity with Facial Action Coding System (FACS) based rigs.
- Familiarity with joint placement and designing skeleton setups.
- Experience creating character rigs that are optimized for games.
- Knowledge of good topology and proper edge-flow for natural deformation.
- Soft Skills:
- Excellent problem-solving skills.
- A love for video games.
Nice To Have
- Working with NgSkinTools for weight painting.
- Familiarity with creating UIs with Qt.
- Experience with version control (Perforce).
- Experience creating jiggle joints or other dynamic simulation setups.
- Programming using Maya Python API.
Compensation and Benefits
Base pay is determined by market location and individualized factors including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
- US Pay Ranges (Hourly):
- California: $54 - $75
- New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado: $48 - $68
- Washington State: $54 - $75
- Canada (British Columbia) Pay Range: CAD $47 - $67 per hour.
- Additional Compensation: Regular, full-time roles may include a bonus and/or equity awards. Temporary roles are not eligible for all benefits.
- US Benefits (Regular, full-time employees):
- Medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance.
- 14 paid holidays per calendar year.
- Paid vacation time (15 to 25 days) or participation in discretionary time off program.
- Up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year.
- Paid parental and compassionate leave.
- Wellbeing programs for mental health and wellness.
- Family planning support through Maven.
- Commuter benefits and fitness-related expense reimbursements.
- Eligibility to participate in 401(K) and Employee Stock Purchase Program (varies by region/status).
Working Conditions
- Position is "at-will."
- The company reserves the right to modify base salary and discretionary programs at any time.