About the role
What is Technical Art?
Technical Artists make the art team more capable than it would be on its own. The art team is your customer, its problems set your priorities, and your work is judged on whether the artists it was built for actually use it.
In practice that means building the tools artists use to create content, the rigs that make characters move, the shaders that give a world its look, the rules that scatter a landscape with vegetation, and the pipelines that carry all of it into the game.
Program Overview
- Duration: 21 months.
- Start Date: Summer 2027.
- Location: Novato, CA.
Foundation Training (Eleven Weeks)
You get a brief, a deadline, and the tools art teams use every day, and you work out how to deliver. You build across all four specializations:
- Pipeline and Tools
- Character and Animation
- Rendering and Visuals
- Environment and World
What you build is reviewed by industry professionals, covering both your delivery and your collaboration with the people you built it for. Some work is individual, some is shared with Engineering and Publishing graduates.
Tech Stack: Unreal Engine, Maya, Python, and Perforce. The program assumes you arrive knowing one or two of these, not all four.
Strategic Rotations
- Structure: Three rotations, six months each.
- Locations: Rotations run across 2K studios (Hangar 13, HB Studios, Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Small Axe, Gearbox) and central technology teams.
- Assignment Process: Determined by game timelines, team needs, and your developing focus.
Qualifications and Requirements
Portfolio Requirements:
- An outstanding portfolio is mandatory.
- Must show the work and the process/methodology.
- Does not need to be an art portfolio; tools, scripts, rigs, and shaders are accepted.
- Must clearly denote your specific contributions if the work was collaborative.
Technical Skills:
- Content Creation: Comfort in at least one package or engine (Maya, Blender, Houdini, Substance, Unreal Engine, or others).
- Scripting: Ability to read code and write scripts.
Essential Qualities:
- Curiosity: A drive to understand how things are made.
- Persistence: Ability to troubleshoot complex, non-obvious technical issues until resolved.
- Communication: A high volume of questioning and active engagement with others.
Education and Eligibility:
- Degrees: Game Art, Animation, VFX, Technical Art, Computer Science, Engineering, or related fields. Unrelated degrees are accepted if the portfolio demonstrates required skills.
- Graduation Window: Eligible graduates from January 2025 to June 2027. Exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Industry Experience: No prior games industry experience required. Mod work, game jams, university projects, and freelance work are accepted.
Application Process
- Submission Materials: CV/resume and a portfolio (ArtStation, personal site, GitHub, itch.io, reel, or PDF).
- Optional Materials: A cover letter is optional if your resume does not explicitly reflect Technical Art experience.
- Selection Stages:
- Application and portfolio review
- Online written assessment
- Recorded video answers
- Take-home task
- Final interview
Compensation and Benefits
- Base Pay: $105,000 USD/year (California).
- Variable Factors: Base pay varies based on market location, individualized skills, experience, and business considerations.
- Total Compensation: May include bonuses and/or equity awards.
- Benefits: Full range of medical, financial, and other benefits provided for regular roles.
- Relocation: Relocation assistance is offered for candidates applying from outside the state/province of the role location.
- Status: At-will position.
Company Information
2K creates iconic games including NBA 2K, BioShock, Borderlands, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization, XCOM, WWE 2K, TopSpin, and PGA TOUR 2K.
Studios include: Visual Concepts, Firaxis Games, Hangar 13, Cat Daddy Games, 31st Union, Cloud Chamber, Gearbox, HB Studios, and 2K SportsLab. 2K is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.