Senior Technical Character Rigger with Tools

2K Games, Inc.; Novato, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

2K Games, Inc. in California seeks a Senior Artist, Technical (Rigger) to advance NBA 2K character rigs, collaborating with the NBA Tech Art team and engineers. You will update rigs, build math networks, and implement blendshapes for optimized, game-ready characters.

The role requires Maya mastery, knowledge of anatomy-based deformation, Python/PyMel scripting, and­­ a passion for games. This is a temporary, on-site position based in Novato, CA with cross-team collaboration.

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in Autodesk Maya.
• Strong understanding of human anatomy and deformation.
• Working knowledge of scripting in Python/PyMel.
• Familiar with Facial Action Coding System (FACS) based rigs.
• Familiar with joint placement and designing skeleton setups.
• Experience in creating character rigs that are optimized for games.
• Knowledge of good topology and proper edge-flow to create natural deformation.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Love for video games.

Responsibilities

• Update our character rigs to improve deformation and more accurately simulate human anatomy.
• Create math node networks to make new connections for our body and face rigs.
• Implement blendshapes and corrective shapes into our rigs with the support of the character team.
• Create clean skinweight and blendweight maps.
• Write Python code to automate tasks, create procedural setups, and improve workflow efficiency.
• Diagnose, debug, and resolve character rigging related errors across tools and the game.
• Collaborate with a team of other technical artists to support art teams directly.
• Work closely with engineers and collaborate with multiple art departments to address feedback notes and make art asset requests.
• Contribute to documentation, workflows, and pipeline improvements that scale across the team.

Skills

Autodesk Maya

Human anatomy

Python scripting

PyMel

FACS rigs

Joint placement

Character rigs for games

Topology / edge-flow

Problem solving

Video game passion

Tools

NgSkinTools

Qt UI

Perforce

Jiggle joints

Job description

2K Games, Inc. in California seeks a Senior Artist, Technical (Rigger) to advance NBA 2K character rigs, collaborating with the NBA Tech Art team and engineers. You will update rigs, build math networks, and implement blendshapes for optimized, game-ready characters.

The role requires Maya mastery, knowledge of anatomy-based deformation, Python/PyMel scripting, and­­ a passion for games. This is a temporary, on-site position based in Novato, CA with cross-team collaboration.