3D Principal Artist - FTC 9 Months

Storytoys; Rotherham; Sur place; GBP 70 000 - 100 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

StoryToys is seeking a 3D Principal Artist to lead end-to-end pipeline development for mobile games featuring world-class brands. You will improve tools, visuals, and processes used by the 3D art team, identifying recurring production issues and delivering practical, reliable solutions across Maya, Unity, and the broader workflow.

You will collaborate with the 3D Art Lead, Art Manager, Technical Artists and Engineering to translate pipeline priorities into tools, automation, and production

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in technical art or 3D pipeline development for games.
• Strong Maya and Unity knowledge with asset workflow expertise.
• Proficient in Python for Maya tooling and C# for Unity editor tools.
• Solid modeling, topology, UVs, materials, texturing, rigging and animation.
• Ability to inspect assets and provide actionable feedback to improve quality.
• Experience with Unity asset import workflows, prefabs, materials and automated validation.
• Understanding real-time performance constraints with profiling tools.
• Experience supporting external art vendors or licensed IP (children's content).
• Experience with Git or similar version control and documentation.
• Strong problem-solving and communication, balancing artist needs with engineering.

Responsabilités

• Vis/Dev look: guide 3D artists to fulfill the game's visual scope.
• Pipeline improvements from asset creation to export and runtime use.
• Develop and maintain Maya scripts and Unity editor tools.
• Enforce asset naming, folder, export/import standards and validation.
• Troubleshoot Maya, Unity, and project systems with Engineering.
• Mobile optimisation of art assets while preserving visual quality.
• Test tools with production assets and manage changes via version control.
• Create setup and usage documentation and train artists.
• Collaborate in an Agile environment and communicate risks.

Connaissances

Technical art

3D pipeline development

Maya and Unity

Python for Maya tooling

C# for Unity editor tools

Modeling, topology, UVs

Rigging and animation

Asset validation

Real-time performance profiling

Git/version control

Documentation & training

Communication with Engineering

Outils

Maya

Unity

Git

Description du poste

Who are we?

StoryToys, an independent subsidiary of Team17 Group plc, is a premier, award-winning developer and publisher of interactive educational apps designed to help children learn, play, and grow. We collaborate with the world’s most recognizable entertainment giants—including The LEGO Group, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Entertainment, Mattel, and BBC Studios to bring beloved characters like Bluey, Peppa Pig, and Barbie into engaging digital worlds.

Our global success spans all major distribution networks, amassing over 300 million app downloads and reaching millions of active families worldwide in up to 28 different languages. While headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, our internal team of over 130 professionals operates alongside a vast, highly agile global network of creators.

About the role

We are seeking a 3D Principal Artist to work with us in high profile games alongside world leading brands.

You will focus on end-to-end pipeline development to improve the tools, looks and processes used by our 3D art team and will have experience in a similar category of mobile games. You will help artists work more efficiently by identifying recurring production problems and building practical, reliable solutions across Maya, Unity, and the wider workflow. The result is an effective pipeline that can be used as a template for other projects in the future.

You will take part in the 3D aspect of visual development, collaborating with partners and stakeholders in the presentation and refinement of high-quality and high-preforming graphics representative of the profile of the games that are being produced. You will support the early ideation and through your knowledge and experience carry it to final execution.

Working closely with the 3D Art Lead, Art Manager, Technical Artists and Engineering, you will turn agreed pipeline priorities into tools, automation and production standards that support multiple products. The successful candidate will combine an understanding of 3D art production with strong scripting and troubleshooting skills, balancing artist usability, visual quality, maintainability, and mobile performance.

Key responsibilities

Vis/Dev look: Supervise, and when required, directly input in the creation of visual ideation that fulfills the projected scope and look of the game. Through your skill and experience, you will assist the game’s producer and other senior stakeholders in enabling their vision; along the way guiding the 3D artist under you to achieve the desired result.

Pipeline Improvement: Review workflows from source asset creation through export, Unity import and runtime use. Identify bottlenecks and repetitive tasks, and agree priorities with Art leadership, Production and Engineering.

Tools and Automation: Develop and maintain Maya scripts and Unity editor tools for tasks such as export, import configuration, asset setup, batch processing and validation. Build tools that artists can use confidently in everyday production.

Asset Standards and Validation: Implement agreed on naming, folder, export and import standards. Create checks that catch common issues with geometry, materials, textures, rigs and animation before they cause downstream rework.

Troubleshooting: Investigate problems across Maya scenes, exported assets, Unity settings and project systems. Identify root causes, communicate findings, and collaborate with Engineering where fixes involve shared systems.

Mobile Optimisation: Support profiling and optimisation of art assets, including geometry, textures, materials, animation and memory use. Help artists apply agreed budgets while preserving the intended visual quality.

Testing and Rollout: Test tools against representative production assets, manage changes through version control and plan adoption with affected teams. Maintain compatibility and provide practical support as workflows evolve.

Documentation and Training: Write clear setup and usage guidance, demonstrate new tools and gather artist feedback to improve reliability and adoption.

Agile Collaboration: Estimate and deliver pipeline work within an Agile environment. Communicate dependencies and technical risks, and assess whether changes reduce rework and improve production efficiency.

Required skills

• Professional experience in technical art or 3D pipeline development for games or real-time interactive media, with examples of tools or workflow improvements used in production.

• Strong practical knowledge of Maya and Unity, and of the asset workflow connecting them.

• Proficiency in Python for Maya tooling and C# for Unity editor tools, with the ability to write clear, maintainable code and diagnose failures.

• Proficiency in modeling, topology, UVs, materials, texturing, rigging, skinning, and animation.

• Proven capacity to inspect assets, provide effective actionable feedback that improves the quality of the work and troubleshoot pipeline issues alongside it.

• Experience with Unity asset import workflows, prefabs, materials, animation setup and automated asset validation.

• Understanding real-time performance constraints and practical experience using profiling or diagnostic tools to investigate art-related issues.

• Experience supporting external art vendors, licensed IP or children’s content.

• Experience with version control such as Git, tool testing and documentation, and a considered approach to changing shared production workflows.

• Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to understand artists’ needs and discuss technical trade-offs constructively with Engineering.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience supporting Unity mobile games or shared pipelines across multiple products.

• Experience with Substance Painter workflows, rigging or animation tools, or automated content checks within a build pipeline.

• Experience with Unity rendering, shaders and materials where these affect asset workflows and performance.

• Experience working in an Agile environment and using Jira for planning and task management.