Senior Technical Artist

Prodigy Education Inc.; Ontario; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Senior Technical Artist to enhance game quality and performance. In this role, you will develop advanced tools and shaders, optimize assets, and mentor junior artists, ensuring a visually engaging player experience. You'll collaborate across teams to streamline workflows and uphold technical standards. This position offers a unique opportunity to impact the lives of millions of students through engaging educational games. Join a mission-driven organization that values diversity and fosters a growth mindset, providing a supportive environment for your professional development.

Benefits

Total Rewards Program

Flexible Work Environment

Growth Mindset Culture

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in building tools for animation and asset workflows.
• Knowledge of performance optimization techniques for assets and animations.

Responsibilities

• Develop advanced tools and shaders to enhance game visuals.
• Mentor junior team members and uphold technical excellence.
• Optimize asset performance and ensure seamless integration.

Skills

Animation Tools

Performance Optimization

Shader Programming

C# Scripting

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Unity

Maya

Figma

Adobe Suite

Git

Perforce

Job description

Prodigy Education, a global leader in game-based learning, is on a mission to make every student in the world love learning. We believe learning should be as fun as playing a video game. This is central to our educational philosophy, because when you love what you do, you do it better. Visit www.prodigygame.com to learn more.

With Prodigy, kids practice standards-aligned skills in Math and English as they play our fun, adaptive learning games. All with teacher and parent tools to support their learning in class and at home.

Your Impact

As a Senior Technical Artist at Prodigy Education, you will be instrumental in leveling up the quality and performance of our game assets by developing advanced tools, shaders, and workflows. You'll serve as a technical bridge between art and engineering, driving innovation in animation systems and rendering, while mentoring junior team members to uphold technical excellence. Your contributions will directly improve the player experience, ensuring our game remains performant, polished, and visually engaging.

In this role, you will:

1. Build and maintain animation and asset tools to streamline workflows, reduce errors, and enhance collaboration across teams.
2. Optimize asset performance, ensuring seamless integration and consistent standards across the game.
3. Design and implement advanced shaders and rendering systems that push the visual quality of our 2D and 3D assets.
4. Conduct asset audits and performance profiling to identify bottlenecks and uphold technical standards.
5. Support and mentor technical artists and animators, providing guidance on rigging, LOD setup, compression techniques, and asset integration.
6. Own and refine automated systems for asset validation and library organization, contributing to scalable, high-performing pipelines.
7. Represent the Tech Art discipline in cross-functional meetings and be a key voice in technical strategy for game visuals.

About You

You're a technical expert with a passion for both visual quality and real-time performance. You're comfortable working across disciplines, translating complex technical needs into elegant tools and processes that elevate the game experience. You're proactive, collaborative, and take ownership of challenges from concept through execution.

1. Proven experience building and maintaining tools for animation, rigging, and asset workflows in game production environments.
2. Deep knowledge of performance optimization, including LOD systems, compression strategies, and profiling techniques for both assets and animations.
3. Advanced proficiency in shader programming (e.g., HLSL/GLSL) and scripting languages like C# in Unity or similar engines.
4. A track record of creating and optimizing advanced rendering systems, materials, and lighting setups.
5. Experience with automated asset validation, versioning, and performance pipelines to support growing content libraries.
6. Strong written and verbal communication skills with a knack for cross-functional collaboration.
7. A mentoring mindset and the ability to lead by example, uplifting the skills of those around you.

Core Technologies

1. C#
2. Shader languages (HLSL, Shader Graph)
3. Python, MEL, or other scripting tools for asset pipelines
4. Figma, Miro, Adobe Suite (for collaboration)
5. Git or Perforce (version control)
6. Animation & rigging tools (e.g., Maya, Spine, custom rigs)

Working at Prodigy

1. Be part of a mission-driven organization dedicated to helping every student in the world love learning! At Prodigy Education, your work positively impacts the lives of millions of students and teachers worldwide.
2. Join a company which empowers a Growth Mindset among its team members, so you grow as we do. You’ll also work on award-winning products which harness the magic of math and power of language for students in grades 1st-8th.
3. We understand that a thriving team is at the core of our success. So, on top of an inspirational mission and rewarding work, our Total Rewards Program reflects our commitment to your financial, physical, and mental well-being.

Come as you are. We believe the power of our collective potential will transform education. We are building towards a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace to empower and create access and opportunity for all. We welcome applications from people from all underrepresented groups, including (but not limited to) people of any gender, age, or religion, members of the LGBTQIA2+ community, BIPOC and other underrepresented races and nationalities, people with disabilities, veterans, and anyone who may contribute to the further diversification of Prodigy Education. If you feel like you don’t have all the qualifications for this position and are willing to use your initiative to learn the rest, we’d still love for you to apply!

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). Prodigy Education will provide accommodations to job applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation, please notify us at [e-mail], and we will work with you to meet your needs.