Technical Artist

Studio Wildcard; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

PTO & Holidays

Parental leave

Job summary

Studio Wildcard, the studio behind ARK: Survival Evolved, is expanding its team for ARK Survival Ascended. We seek a technical artist to solve cross-disciplinary art-tech challenges, approve assets, and optimize assets across gameplay and environments.

You will collaborate with a globally distributed team, contribute to pipeline improvements, and work with Unreal Engine, shaders, and various tooling to push quality and performance forward.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of game development as a technical artist with at least 1 shipped title.
• Capable of mastering new pipeline and tech tools.
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team that is distributed globally.

Responsibilities

• Solve technical art problems across disciplines.
• Approve assets and perform quality checks.
• Optimize gameplay and environment assets.
• Create documentation and provide pipeline improvements.
• Integrate gameplay-related assets including LODs, destruction meshes, custom metadata, and NVIDIA GameWorks.

Skills

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Technical art knowledge

Shipped title experience

Tools

Unreal Engine

Shader languages GLSL/HLSL/CG

Tool scripting MEL PyMel MaxScript Python Fabric Engine

NVIDIA GameWorks

LOD creation with Simplygon

Job description

We're Studio Wildcard, developers of the smash indie hit ARK: Survival Evolved -- one of the most popular and original video games in recent years. Despite our massive success, we've been able to stay independent, so that we can steer our own future in games and beyond. There's never been a better time for you to join this adventure and help us build ARK Survival Ascended, the next chapter of our original hit franchise! We're expanding and updating many of the ARK community's most beloved features while taking full advantage of the latest tools and technologies.

And now we're searching for an exceptionally talented and passionate Technical Artist who can create high-impact work for the expanding ARK franchise.

Responsibilities:

• Solve technical art problems across disciplines
• Approve assets and perform quality checks
• Optimize gameplay and environment assets
• Create documentation and provide pipeline improvements
• Integrate Gameplay-related assets
  • LODs (Simplygon)
  • Destruction meshes
  • Custom gameplay metadata
  • NVIDIA GameWorks

Requirements:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in game development as a technical artist with at least 1 shipped title

• Capable of mastering new pipeline and tech tools
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary team that is scattered throughout the world

Pluses:

• Experience with Rigging, Animation, or Motion Capture
• Experience working in the Unreal Engine
• Shader Programming GLSL, HLSL, CG
• Tool Programming MEL, PyMel, MaxScript, Python, Fabric Engine

Required Application Materials:

• Resume
• Cover Letter which should include
  • Why you are interested in working for Studio Wildcard
  • What games you are currently playing

About Studio Wildcard

Studio Wildcard was founded in 2014 by industry veterans Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, with the mission of bringing AAA quality to ambitious indie productions designed for core gamers. With countless years of combined industry experience across multiple independent and studio-backed titles, Wildcard's core team continues to grow, with offices in Redmond, WA, and Gainesville, FL including distributed team members across multiple continents.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Wildcard is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by applicable laws, regulations or ordinances. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to disability during the application or the recruiting process, please let us know.

Pay Transparency Information

The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position vary based on a variety of factors, which include: (but aren't limited to) skills, competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. Each pay range is only relevant to those residing in WA state and can vary based on geographical location.

Wildcard Benefits

We pay 100% of all premiums for the employee and discounted rates for dependent premiums. Our coverage includes Medical (5 different plans to choose from), Dental, Vision, Short Term and Long Term Disability, Life Insurance, 401(k) option, 100% covered Parental Leave, PTO, Paid Holidays, Unlimited Sick Time, and FSA/ HSA options