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Senior Technical Artist - Rigging/Animation/Pipeline

Do you have a passion for character development and the art of motion, as well as a drive to advance art and animation through technology? As part of a lean, focused, and experienced team working on a new IP, you’ll be able to shape your own role as well as evolve the foundation of our animation pipeline. As a central influencer on the team, you will be the glue that helps tie it all together.

We are an excellence driven studio and are looking for people with a real passion for their craft. We hire and support lifelong learners; you will have the opportunity to research new techniques and advance our development processes.

Bonfire is a non-hierarchical, peer-supported, and self-directed environment, so it’s essential to be an excellent collaborator while also being able to take the lead and work independently. If you’re ready to collaborate with us while becoming a true owner in your own AAA studio, please reach out.

About the role...

• Your main focus will be character rigging, deformation, and animation in both Maya and in Unity
• You will help develop and maintain rigging and animation tooling in Maya, with a high degree of autonomy around the pipelines and processes from DCC to in-game
• You will proactively identify ways to support and empower animators through tooling, and develop short and long term strategies in regards to scale and automation
• You’ll collaborate closely with art and game design to iterate on character design
• You will setup runtime rigging graphs, cloth surfaces and other technologies to help bring characters and animations to life
• You will be working with bleeding edge Unity tech, both as a user and to help guide future development
• You will have the opportunity to work with and guide contractors in terms of rigging/skinning as needed

You’re interested in this opportunity because you...

• Believe, as we do, that great games are the product of great teams that put their people first.
• Thrive on collaboration and are excited about jumping into a non-hierarchical, peer-supported, and self-directed environment.
• Want to have a large impact while collaborating with other talented developers in a tight knit AAA studio, rolling up your sleeves and using your passions and interests to shape your role at the company.
• Are passionate about creating great experiences for players, supporting the work of other developers through developing tools and problem solving, and collaborating across disciplines to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues.

We're excited about you because you...

• Have 5+ years of experience rigging for games or television/film.
• Are open, humble, eager, and excited about learning and contributing in multiple areas of the studio. Your curiosity propels you to jump in and dive deep on new problems.
• Collaborate well with developers of all disciplines.
• Have experience with Maya, Python, and Qt.
• Have experience proactively developing and evolving pipelines and tools.
• May have Unity experience, but if not you are excited to learn.
• May have experience working on a live game.

You'll love working at Bonfire because we...

• Are a small, tight-knit group of game developers who are as passionate about our team as we are our game.
• Offer the opportunity to have a high impact through both autonomy and high collaboration; the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
• Practice candor and feedback, leveling ourselves and each other up in the process.
• Play games and have fun together, kindling our own love for games and learning about each other.