3D Sculpting Artist

Meril; Vapi; On-site; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Meril seeks a 3D Sculpting Artist for its Immersive Technologies group in Vapi, Gujarat. You will create high-fidelity organic 3D sculptures for robotic surgical training, focusing on anatomical accuracy and real-time performance within a Unity pipeline.

You will collaborate with Clinical SMEs and cross-functional teams to deliver production-ready assets, performing high-to-low poly workflows, baking maps, and asset optimization for real-time visualization.

Qualifications

• Diploma / Bachelor's degree / equivalent qualification in 3D Design, Animation, Game Art, Multimedia, Visual Effects, Medical Visualization, or a related field.
• 2-5 years of professional experience in digital sculpting and organic 3D asset creation.
• Strong professional experience with ZBrush or equivalent digital sculpting software.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating anatomy and organic sculpting capabilities.
• Experience with high-poly to low-poly workflows and baking pipelines.
• Experience in retopology, mesh optimization, and production-ready asset preparation.
• Experience creating normal, AO, displacement, and/or vector displacement maps.
• Experience working within a multi-disciplinary or multi-artist production pipeline is preferred.
• Experience in medical visualization, surgical simulation, gaming, character art, VFX, XR/VR/AR, or digital-twin projects will be an added advantage.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality digital sculpts of anatomical structures, tissues, organs, and other organic forms required for surgical simulation.
• Develop detailed high-resolution sculpts with anatomically appropriate forms, surface details, tissue characteristics, and landmarks.
• Create organic forms that are visually clear and readable within surgical training environments.
• Develop realistic secondary and tertiary surface details such as folds, creases, wrinkles, pores, tissue transitions, and anatomical landmarks.
• Ensure sculpted assets maintain the required balance between visual fidelity, training readability, and real-time performance requirements.
• Create and refine anatomical models based on approved references and clinical inputs.
• Work with Clinical SMEs to incorporate feedback on anatomical form and visual representation.
• Develop tissue and anatomical regions relevant to surgical procedures and robotic training scenarios.
• Refine modeler blockouts into detailed, production-ready organic assets.
• Ensure consistency in anatomical proportions, forms, landmarks, and surface characteristics across the simulator.
• Develop high-resolution sculpting assets suitable for downstream texturing and real-time implementation.
• Prepare high-poly and low-poly versions for efficient baking and real-time rendering.
• Perform appropriate mesh preparation, decimation, retopology, and optimization.
• Generate bake-ready assets for: Normal maps, Ambient Occlusion (AO), Displacement maps, Vector displacement maps, where required.
• Maintain a disciplined high-to-low workflow suitable for Unity-based real-time simulation.
• Develop realistic surface characteristics for different types of anatomical and soft-tissue structures.
• Support the creation of tension, wrinkle, fold, and surface-detail maps for dynamic organic shading.
• Work with technical artists and developers to ensure sculpted details translate effectively into real-time rendering.
• Develop assets that support realistic visualization of deformable tissue within the simulator.
• Ensure surface details remain visually meaningful without unnecessarily increasing real-time geometry or texture requirements.
• Perform retopology of high-resolution organic sculpts to create optimized production meshes.
• Maintain clean topology suitable for texturing, deformation, simulation, and real-time rendering.
• Optimize geometry while preserving critical anatomical and surface details.
• Prepare decimated and production-ready meshes based on project requirements.
• Ensure correct scale, orientation, naming, hierarchy, and asset organization.
• Work closely with Texturing, Look-Development, and Technical Art teams to ensure smooth asset handoff.
• Prepare high-quality bake outputs for PBR texturing workflows.
• Collaborate with texture artists to ensure sculpted details are correctly transferred into texture maps.
• Support the creation of realistic organic materials and surface details through effective sculpt-to-texture workflows.
• Identify and resolve issues related to baking, normal maps, displacement, and surface detail transfer.
• Work closely with 3D Modelers, Texturing Artists, Look-Dev Artists, Technical Artists, Unity Developers, Simulation Engineers, and Clinical SMEs.
• Participate in regular art pipeline reviews and production meetings.
• Incorporate feedback from technical and clinical stakeholders into asset development.
• Communicate production challenges, dependencies, and technical blockers proactively.
• Contribute to improving the overall organic asset creation and sculpting pipeline.
• Follow established modeling, sculpting, naming, folder structure, and asset production standards.
• Maintain asset versions using Git, Git LFS, or the approved Digital Asset Management (DAM) workflow.
• Maintain documentation related to asset versions, source references, bake settings, maps, and production requirements where applicable.
• Conduct quality checks on topology, sculpt detail, bake quality, scale, and asset organization before handoff.
• Ensure timely delivery of assets in line with project milestones and production schedules.
• Contribute to the development of next-generation immersive surgical training and robotic simulation technologies.
• Explore advanced digital sculpting techniques for anatomical and soft-tissue visualization.
• Stay updated with emerging workflows in digital sculpting, medical visualization, PBR texturing, real-time rendering, and simulation.
• Contribute ideas and process improvements to enhance the realism and efficiency of the simulator's 3D asset pipeline.

Skills

ZBrush

Anatomy knowledge

Real-time asset prep

Unity-ready assets

Education

Diploma / Bachelor's degree in 3D Design or related field

Tools

Unity

Maya

Blender

Substance 3D

Job description

Job Title: 3D Sculpting Artist

Department: Immersive Technologies

Location: Vapi, Gujarat.

Reports To: XR Lead

Experience: 2-5 Years

Job Purpose:

To create high-fidelity organic, anatomical, and tissue-based 3D sculptures for an immersive, physics-based robotic surgical training simulator. The role will focus on developing realistic anatomical forms, tissue structures, landmarks, deformable regions, and other organic assets required for surgical training and simulation. The position will work as the second stage of the 3D art pipeline between modeling and texturing, ensuring high-quality sculpted assets are optimized and prepared for real-time Unity simulation.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Digital Sculpting & Organic Asset Development

• Create high-quality digital sculpts of anatomical structures, tissues, organs, and other organic forms required for surgical simulation.
• Develop detailed high-resolution sculpts with anatomically appropriate forms, surface details, tissue characteristics, and landmarks.
• Create organic forms that are visually clear and readable within surgical training environments.
• Develop realistic secondary and tertiary surface details such as folds, creases, wrinkles, pores, tissue transitions, and anatomical landmarks.
• Ensure sculpted assets maintain the required balance between visual fidelity, training readability, and real-time performance requirements.

2. Anatomy & Surgical Training Assets

• Create and refine anatomical models based on approved references and clinical inputs.
• Work with Clinical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to incorporate feedback on anatomical form and visual representation.
• Develop tissue and anatomical regions relevant to surgical procedures and robotic training scenarios.
• Refine modeler blockouts into detailed, production-ready organic assets.
• Ensure consistency in anatomical proportions, forms, landmarks, and surface characteristics across the simulator.

3. High-Resolution Sculpting & Bake Preparation

• Develop high-resolution sculpting assets suitable for downstream texturing and real-time implementation.
• Prepare high-poly and low-poly versions for efficient baking and real-time rendering.
• Perform appropriate mesh preparation, decimation, retopology, and optimization.
• Generate bake-ready assets for:
  • Normal maps
  • Ambient Occlusion (AO)
  • Displacement maps
  • Vector displacement maps, where required
  • Maintain a disciplined high-to-low workflow suitable for Unity-based real-time simulation.

4. Organic Surface & Deformation Detail

• Develop realistic surface characteristics for different types of anatomical and soft-tissue structures.
• Support the creation of tension, wrinkle, fold, and surface-detail maps for dynamic organic shading.
• Work with technical artists and developers to ensure sculpted details translate effectively into real-time rendering.
• Develop assets that support realistic visualization of deformable tissue within the simulator.
• Ensure surface details remain visually meaningful without unnecessarily increasing real-time geometry or texture requirements.

5. Retopology, Optimization & Asset Preparation

• Perform retopology of high-resolution organic sculpts to create optimized production meshes.
• Maintain clean topology suitable for texturing, deformation, simulation, and real-time rendering.
• Optimize geometry while preserving critical anatomical and surface details.
• Prepare decimated and production-ready meshes based on project requirements.
• Ensure correct scale, orientation, naming, hierarchy, and asset organization.

6. Texturing & Look-Development Collaboration

• Work closely with Texturing, Look-Development, and Technical Art teams to ensure smooth asset handoff.
• Prepare high-quality bake outputs for PBR texturing workflows.
• Collaborate with texture artists to ensure sculpted details are correctly transferred into texture maps.
• Support the creation of realistic organic materials and surface details through effective sculpt-to-texture workflows.
• Identify and resolve issues related to baking, normal maps, displacement, and surface detail transfer.

7. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with 3D Modelers, Texturing Artists, Look-Dev Artists, Technical Artists, Unity Developers, Simulation Engineers, and Clinical SMEs.
• Participate in regular art pipeline reviews and production meetings.
• Incorporate feedback from technical and clinical stakeholders into asset development.
• Communicate production challenges, dependencies, and technical blockers proactively.
• Contribute to improving the overall organic asset creation and sculpting pipeline.

8. Documentation, Version Control & Quality

• Follow established modeling, sculpting, naming, folder structure, and asset production standards.
• Maintain asset versions using Git, Git LFS, or the approved Digital Asset Management (DAM) workflow.
• Maintain documentation related to asset versions, source references, bake settings, maps, and production requirements where applicable.
• Conduct quality checks on topology, sculpt detail, bake quality, scale, and asset organization before handoff.
• Ensure timely delivery of assets in line with project milestones and production schedules.

9. Innovation & Learning

• Contribute to the development of next-generation immersive surgical training and robotic simulation technologies.
• Explore advanced digital sculpting techniques for anatomical and soft-tissue visualization.
• Stay updated with emerging workflows in digital sculpting, medical visualization, PBR texturing, real-time rendering, and simulation.
• Contribute ideas and process improvements to enhance the realism and efficiency of the simulator's 3D asset pipeline.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Diploma / Bachelor's degree / equivalent qualification in 3D Design, Animation, Game Art, Multimedia, Visual Effects, Medical Visualization, or a related field.
• 2-5 years of professional experience in digital sculpting and organic 3D asset creation.
• Strong professional experience with ZBrush or equivalent digital sculpting software.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating anatomy and organic sculpting capabilities.
• Experience with high-poly to low-poly workflows and baking pipelines.
• Experience in retopology, mesh optimization, and production-ready asset preparation.
• Experience creating normal, AO, displacement, and/or vector displacement maps.
• Experience working within a multi-disciplinary or multi-artist production pipeline is preferred.
• Experience in medical visualization, surgical simulation, gaming, character art, VFX, XR/VR/AR, or digital-twin projects will be an added advantage.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong proficiency in ZBrush or equivalent digital sculpting tools.
• Strong understanding of human anatomy and organic forms.
• Strong organic sculpting and anatomical detailing skills.
• Good understanding of high-poly / low-poly workflows.
• Strong knowledge of retopology and baking workflows.
• Understanding of normal, AO, displacement, and vector displacement maps.
• Basic to intermediate proficiency in Maya and/or Blender.
• Working knowledge of Substance 3D tools for baking and texture workflows is preferred.
• Understanding of PBR asset workflows and real-time rendering requirements.
• Good understanding of Unity-oriented asset preparation.
• Strong attention to anatomical accuracy, surface detail, and visual quality.
• Ability to balance anatomical fidelity with real-time performance and training readability.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work effectively with artists, engineers, technical teams, and clinical SMEs.
• Passion for digital sculpting, immersive technologies, medical visualization, and healthcare innovation.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Quality and anatomical accuracy of organic and sculpted assets.
• Timely completion of assigned sculpting and asset-development activities.
• Quality of high-poly sculpting and surface detailing.
• Quality and accuracy of high-to-low baking outputs.
• Compliance with topology, optimization, and real-time asset standards.
• Successful handover of production-ready assets to texturing and Look-Development teams.
• Quality of normal, AO, displacement, and other required map outputs.
• Effective incorporation of clinical and technical feedback.
• Successful optimization of assets for Unity-based real-time simulation.
• Contribution to improving the visual quality and realism of the immersive surgical training platform.

Portfolio Requirement:

• Candidates must submit a professional portfolio demonstrating strong organic and anatomical sculpting capabilities.
• Portfolio should preferably include:
• Human anatomy / anatomical structures
• Organic tissue sculpting
• High-poly sculpting
• High-to-low workflow
• Retopology examples
• Normal / displacement / AO bake examples
• Wireframes and topology
• Real-time or game-ready organic assets