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Technical Animator
2 years ago
Ascendant Studios is looking for a technical artist dedicated to Unreal’s animation system for our upcoming AAA title. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of Unreal's animation system, animation blueprints, state machines, notifiers, physics bodies, control rigs, modular characters, dynamics, cloth, IK, Blendshapes, retargeting, sockets and rigging. They will have a passion for procedural animation, and will always be striving for that extra inch in fidelity and performance.
This position can be remote or in-person. Our new office, set in an old bank (yes, we kept the vault, aka our game room), has just opened after a 2 year renovation, steps away from shops, restaurants, and San Rafael’s vibrant downtown.
Founded by industry veterans, Ascendant Studios is a fully independent AAA game studio committed to making richly detailed, visceral, narrative-driven action games of the highest quality that players will never forget. We are currently working on our first title, an imaginative and original new IP, which we have complete ownership and creative control of.
What you'll do:
- Author/Manage and design animation blueprints, control structures and dynamics for our unique and diverse characters
- Create physics and cloth setups
- Work tightly with other character technical artists to provide a smooth workflow for animation and design
- Work directly with artists to understand inefficiencies in their processes and create effective solutions
- Update and maintain existing toolsets already integrated into Ascendant’s pipelines.
- Readily provide mentorship to fellow Technical Artists
- Proactively work to identify and provide solutions to issues before they escalate into larger problems
Who you are:
- 5+ years of experience as a technical artist in games or related industries
- Extensive knowledge of Unreal’s animation and blueprint system
- Thorough understanding of rigging in Maya
- Experienced in the optimization of both assets and pipelines
- Experience in Python programming and the willingness to use that knowledge for good or evil
- A passion for exploring new techniques and applications that will make everyone’s lives easier
Bonus Points:
- C++, MGear, Motion Builder, Live Link, Control Rig, ART V1 and/or XSens experience
- Worked on 1st person shooters and/or action games from beginning to end of a development cycle.
- Previous experience on a multiplayer title.
More About Ascendant:
Located in beautiful San Rafael, California, in the heart of the San Francisco Bay area, Ascendant is founded by Bret Robbins, creative director and visionary behind the original Dead Space, as well as the campaigns for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Advanced Warfare, and WWII. The studio’s leadership has assembled a team of industry veterans with more than 600 combined years of BAFTA and Game of the Year award-winning experience on beloved franchises such as Telltale's The Walking Dead, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Borderlands, The Wolf Among Us, Mafia, Tomb Raider, Gears of War, Metal Gear Solid, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, Dead Space and Bioshock.
At Ascendant, everyone on our dispersed, 90+ person team is encouraged to contribute ideas to our new IP. We value creativity, inclusivity, equality, collaboration and professionalism, and we are fostering a fun, mature and ego-less studio culture built on a foundation of respect and an earnest top-down belief in a healthy work/life balance.
We believe that teams with varied backgrounds and life experiences make better games. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability status, gender expression or identity, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, race, religion, veteran status, or any other category protected by law.
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