Senior Simulation Pipeline Artist - World Simulations

Apple, Inc.; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 312,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple, Inc. in Cupertino, California, is seeking a Simulation Pipeline Technical Artist for Special Projects. You will build pipelines and tools to generate 3D assets for world simulations and apply game/film techniques to ensure scalable, high-quality outputs for AI-ready features.

The role requires 5+ years of Technical Artist experience, strong Python, and expertise with USD, Maya or Houdini. You will prototype and collaborate across teams to push innovative simulation capabilities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years as a Technical Artist in games, animation, or VFX.
• Strong Python for data creation and manipulation.
• Experience building pipelines across multiple DCCs with custom code.
• Strong experience with USD format, tools and APIs.
• Experience with Maya, Houdini, or other DCC APIs.
• Proven track record of innovating tools to speed up artist workflows.
• Strong understanding of shading, lighting, texturing and materials.

Responsibilities

• Develop pipelines and generation tools for 3D assets for world simulations.
• Bring video game and film techniques to our pipeline to optimize quality and size for multiple use-cases, retaining flexibility and potentially multiple versions of assets for different purposes.
• Develop tools and systems which enable procedural and agentic systems to utilize assets.
• Develop tools for artists to work more effectively
• Assist in bringing new materials generation techniques into our pipeline.
• Manage our asset library, establishing and enforcing conventions and standards, making the library easily usable by humans and agentic systems.
• Develop techniques to generate new content, scale our asset libraries with variation, manage our assets, and broaden our simulation scope.

Skills

5+ years exp

Python

USD pipelines

Maya/Houdini

DCC APIs

Shaders/Materials

C++

Tools

Maya

Houdini

USD format

Job description

Apple, Inc. in Cupertino, California, is seeking a Simulation Pipeline Technical Artist for Special Projects. You will build pipelines and tools to generate 3D assets for world simulations and apply game/film techniques to ensure scalable, high-quality outputs for AI-ready features.

The role requires 5+ years of Technical Artist experience, strong Python, and expertise with USD, Maya or Houdini. You will prototype and collaborate across teams to push innovative simulation capabilities.